Sweet Whispers of Tomorrow
by Mah'alleinir
Summary: Sequel to When now isn't enough, after Tony gets back to his own time, and he has to try to get Steve to fall in love with him again. Slightly Au(Pre-IM3), rated T mostly for language right now, might change later.
1. Carry on

** Sequel to When Now Isn't Enough. If you didn't read it, some shit might not make sense. Sorry it took so long to get this new story up, for those of you who were waiting: the sound card on my laptop crashed... I know that doesn't sound like a good excuse, but for me, it really is. I **_**need**_** some sort of noise going on in the background, music, tv, anything, really, but tv gets distracting at times. **

** I just saw Iron Man 3... and I... enjoyed it, well enough. Not a fan of what they did to the Mandarin, but it was pretty good. That being said: this story will be before IM3, and will not really follow the same story-line. I might do Extremis and AIM, but not how they did it. And I will not do Rescue. Might even throw in the more comic-based Mandarin, actually. **

** Story name comes from a song in the book series Wheel of Time, in the 13th book, the Towers of Midnight. Such an amazingly sad part... Dammit, Noal, you awesome son of a bitch. **

_"I'm just the boy inside the man, not exactly who you think I am."_ Be Somebody~ Thousand Foot Krutch

* * *

Tony's head hurt.

Not the normal type that he was used to... he would have been perfectly fine with that. This was the type that as soon as he was able to lift a hand to his skull without passing out had his fingers searching, carefully probing for a gushing wound that would probably require stitches. He couldn't seem to find one, thankfully, and his hand only once ran through a thick sticky substance, and after carefully opening his eyes just slightly, it proved to come from a small pool of motor oil that he was half laying in. He bit down a groan of frustration.

"Useless hunk of failed technology. Dummy, you are supposed to be on top of spills. One of these days, you will be lucky if an old woman uses you as a cane." There was an insulted-sounding whir off to his side that made his eyes snap shut again to get the room to stop spinning.

_'Have to remember why the hell I'm on the floor of my shop...' _ as soon as he could actually breath again without his head hurting, it rushed back to him. To his own surprise, he wasn't shocked at the recollection. He really should have been, he suspected, but it was just too real in his mind to pass off as a dream. Besides, this way he could blame the pain rushing through him on T'Chaka. It was better than having no reason for the pain, after all.

That and the aching throbbing that he was sure had to be psychological twisting in his heart and stomach pretty much screamed its need to see Steve. No dream could have brought that on. Taking a deep breath and trying not to inhale the oil coating half of his face, he forced himself onto his hands and knees... and started coughing, having completely failed the whole don't breath in motor oil part. Damn, nasty. Would it really be so damn difficult to make it taste better...or, you know, at least not poisonous? He might need to work on that.

"Ok. Time Travel. Hypothesis: it always fucking hurts. Hopefully I won't be testing that again any time soon... Hey, J. Next time I decide that I want to do something crazy, make sure I use Hawkass as a guinea pig first."

"Of course, Sir." Tony sighed and smiled lightly.

"You have no idea how damn good it is to be back. Tech in the 40's nearly gave me an aneurism."

"Shall I pretend to have any idea of what you're talking about, Sir?"

"Would probably be for the best."

"Very good. It is good to have you back then, Sir." Tony sighed and ran a hand through his hair before hissing in pain. Right. No sudden movements for now...

"You are such a faker, Jarvis." The AI wisely didn't respond.

Forcing himself to stand, he concentrated on breathing as he stumbled over to his workbench and leaned on it heavily. Luckily he managed to not inhale anything other than air this time.

A few minutes later he stiffed a yawn as he made his way up his stairs, his pounding head thankfully proving to be dulled into a more tolerable levels with Advil. He'd had to restrain himself from washing the small pills down with the half empty bottle of bourbon that was still sitting on his work bench from his most recent binge... months ago for him, now, but if Jarvis's reaction was anything to go by, a days ago at most.

Until his arm was completely healed from the last time he'd been drinking, he decided it was probably best to avoid any alcohol.

Besides, he'd rather see Steve again without anything in his to cloud his mind... the man still did hate him right now, after all, and would probably be very confused and pissed off if a drunk teammate lost control of himself and tried to kiss him. That would almost definitely lead to another injury, and he doubted if his Captain would be as helpful as he had been last time he was injured. Not something he felt like testing right off the bat.

In hindsight, he really should have at least washed his face off.

Actually, it would probably have been a good idea to check the time. Thankfully, it was still day-time. Morning, actually, unless there was another reason why everyone was gathered around the table with coffee and pancakes.

And of course Steve was in the kitchen, doing something or another with the stove... It certainly didn't make it easier to fight down the urge to run over to him and bury his face in the taller mans shirt... The others noticing him standing at the top of the stairs that led to his workshop did, mostly.

At first, they just stared wide-eyed. He wasn't really sure why... was it really that odd to see him this early in the day? Or, for that matter, covered in oil? He was often enough. It didn't take long for it to occur to him that it was probably just because he'd never actually hung around them, hadn't even seen them much since they moved it. In his mind he'd adjusted quickly, and it had become natural for them to be there without having to get used to it. He was used to them. They obviously didn't have the same sort of mindset.

The only one that wasn't staring at him was Bruce. He simply nodded at Tony and went back to studying his newspaper. Which was ridiculous.

Every inch of this Tower had the most high-tech, advanced and well connected material in the modern world... and he was reading day old news. From a paper. The next to look away was Natasha...which was probably because she was more used to this type of thing-having been his (fake) assistant for a few months, and just shook her head as she turned back to a conversation she seemed to be having with Clint.

After slapping him upside the head to get his attention, Hawkeye shifted back to her, but there wasn't a doubt in his mind that he was still being watched by both of the assassins. Thor wasn't presently in the Tower, which didn't really surprise him too much. Which left Steve's brilliant-slightly startled- blue eyes on him alone.

His face stretched into a small grin despite trying not to and he relaxed. Steve didn't smile back. If anything, he looked more confused and maybe a bit concerned. And instead of coming over to him to speak, to make sure he was alright-and he moved to, unless Tony misjudged his movements- his eyes hardened and he turned back to the stove, and the smile slipped off of his face. Wow, that really hurt more than he'd thought it would.

It made him pine for Wakanda, for some reason. Sure, it had been crazy, and he'd been miserable, even the plants all around him seemed to want him dead, but it had been insanely peaceful. At least there T'Chaka had accepted him. He tried to ignore the stab of pain when he remembered that the Panther was long dead now. He had been friends with T'Challa for long years, of course, and the two were rather alike in many things, so it didn't hurt as much as it could have.

He shook his head slightly and walked carefully into the edge of the kitchen and snatched a coffee mug from around Steve before the man had any chance to tense as he realized he was there. As much as he wanted to just stay and be close to him, he poured his coffee quickly and made his way out just as quickly, ignoring the burn of the steaming liquid as the heat soaked through the thick material.

He pulled a chair out and relaxed into it before glaring over at Bruce's paper. Completely nonsensical. He wasn't exactly sure why he was getting mad at a piece of paper... and he really didn't care. It probably deserved it.

A plate thudded down in front of him and he stared down at it curiously before glancing back at Steve. The blonde raised an eye brow at him, then gave a significant look at the pile of food in the center of the table.

"Oh...Uh...No. Just...no. Appreciate the thought and all, I just don't, you know..._do _breakfast_." _Caps mouth tightened and Tony almost thought he saw him start to roll his eyes.

"Well, since you're here, you do. It's healthy for you, Tony."

Bruce snorted. "Besides, who knows the last time you ate anything. You're far too forgetful for your own good, you know." Clint's eyes rolled to the back of his head, but he kept quiet. Maybe it was just too early for his nonsense. More likely he was just too preoccupied with his food to come up with anything.

Unfortunately, not everyone was willing to stay silent. He personally would have preferred Clint's input to the cool English voice of Jarvis as it answered Bruce's unasked question.

"87 hours, Doctor." He glared up at the ceiling.

"Traitor." Then back to Bruce with an innocent smile, ignoring the fact that Steve was still standing there. "See, I'm fine."

There was a sigh from behind him. "That's almost four days. You're eating." Tony winced. Due to the pain, clearly... not at all because of the disappointed tone of Steve's voice. Of course not. And really, when had Steve gotten that quick with math?

Before he got a chance to refuse-again- Bruce had forked two pancakes onto the white porcelain and he had to snatch the plate away before he added any more. Clint snickered at him while Natasha rolled her eyes and gave up trying to carry on their conversation. Steve didn't move. In fact, he seemed to just be standing there. Waiting. Dammit.

With a long suffering sigh, he set the plate back down and quickly cut off a piece before stabbing it with a fork. Uhg... Pancakes. Seriously, who the hell thought that eating sweet things was a good idea as soon as you woke up? Oh, and if that weren't enough, lets just drown that bitch in syrup. Absolutely no sense to it.

"Fine."

He glanced over his shoulder at Steve again as the others went back to their own food. The blonde stared back, his stance making it very clear that he wasn't about to go anywhere until he ate something. Damn. Still, this interest was hopeful... at the very least, concern over his eating habits was a better place to start from than absolute hatred, so he was prepared to count that as a win... and celebrate it by choking down his pride and overly sweet breakfast. Lovely.

* * *

**S**

It had began as just a normal day for Steve. He'd woken up, he'd eaten some dry cereal, drank a gallon of water, went for a run, then got back to the tower before any of the others had gotten up, and cooked breakfast just in time for a bleary eyed Clint to come stumbling into the room. Bleary eyes, perhaps, but he didn't miss a beat when Steve tossed a plate to him over his shoulder from across the kitchen. When he pulled away from the oven a second later with the last of the pancakes, the other mans plate was heaped with bacon and toast.

They'd lived together for a little over a week now, and it had really stunned them all how quickly they fell into it all. Well, it stunned him, at least. Bruce seemed more confused about it than anything when he thought no one was watching, and as far as he could tell, Clint and Natasha both had accepted it without batting an eye.

Only two weren't used to it, the way Steve saw things...Thor was still in Asgard, of course, so he couldn't be expected to be.

Tony, though, none of them were really sure what was going through his mind. Maybe if he hadn't spent the _entire_ time down in his lab, avoiding the rest of them, they might have had a clearer idea of how he was adjusting. But, no. Bruce had his own lab and the house wouldn't let any of them into Tony's shop, and they'd all only seen him once a few days ago, almost too drunk to be standing. That had hurt Steve to see, for some reason, but he shrugged it off as seeing his friend's son wasting what little talent he might have had.

Pepper had stopped by a day or two after, and had clearly been surprised to see all of them there, but had accepted it readily enough. She hadn't been able to get into her bosses lab either and had left angry, though it was clear to all of them that it was mostly just to hide the worry. She's sharply asked Natasha to give her a call when "Tony stopped trying to drown himself in his brooding" and left.

Truthfully... Steve felt bad about it. It almost felt like this were his fault. But Pepper had accepted it as normal and the house...Jarvis, he reminded himself... was quick to try to ease his mind when he mentioned it to thin air after her visit. He desperately wanted to apologize to the man for his behavior during the attack and on the Heli-carrier. He wasn't sure what had set him off about the man...

Well, that wasn't quite true. He knew perfectly well what it was... it just made him more ashamed than anything was all. He was too much like Howard. Like some of the Commandos. Of Peggy. His smirk, his deep brown eyes, even the way he stood... he'd seen it all before. It made him remember what he'd lost, remember that now he was alone. But the man didn't deserve it being taken out on him... Not that he took it lying down. Oh, no. If he had, it would have been easier to stop doing it last week.

Instead he'd had to snap back, clever and harshly blunt. And even that was familiar.

And as odd as it might sound, as messed up as it was, that had helped. Sure, the words had hurt, but the familiarity of it was worth it. But the hurt in the mans eyes when he'd gone too far hadn't been. And when Stark had almost died going through that worm-hole, it hit him how lost he'd be if he had to watch the last piece of what made being in this time alright die.

He hadn't been able to apologize then, not after that fight. They were all tired, and he felt that Tony wouldn't handle his apology well when he was that exhausted. He'd probably just think it was meant as some kind of insult, and he did not need the man hating him more than he already did. He was very good at what he did, and despite what Steve had initially thought, he was a Hero to the core... well, as long as you watched his actions instead of listening to some of the nonsense he said. Or what you read of him in the papers from time to time.

He was just finishing up in the kitchen when everyone at the table suddenly went silent. Not that they were normally loud, or anything. Well, Clint was, but other than that, Natasha was distinctive more than anything and as quite as he was, even Bruce's paper made enough noise to calm him from the other-wise eerie silence of the Tower. This silence, as a matter of fact.

He glanced over his shoulder to find them all staring. Confused, he turned towards the stairs leading to Tony's lab... and froze.

There stood Tony... half his face coated in what looked like motor oil, soaking down his shirt and pushing his dark brown hair up into a black mess that made it look like he'd just been in the middle of some explosion. He had the urge to smile and laugh at the man until he noticed a half-healed wound encircling his wrist. something about that injury tugged at his memory, but his mind came up didn't seem to mind it, so it must have just been something that happened during the attack that they had overlooked. that made sense and he put it out of him mind. It was his chance to apologize... and he couldn't do it. The words stuck in his throat. Maybe if he could get him alone, he could manage it. Later.

Except... was Tony... smiling at him? No, that couldn't be right... why would he be smiling at him? Maybe he was still drunk. No, he didn't seem to be having any trouble standing or walking. Odd. The smile slipped, and Steve shook himself and turned back to the stove.

Not a second later, he felt someone else near him. That someone smelled like a garage. For a moment, he thought that Tony was about to prod at him with something, mock him, something that would undoubtedly make him snap back and he started to tense. But relaxed as the cupboard above him opened and the lean man moved around him carefully to fill his mug with steaming hot black coffee Natasha had made as soon as she'd arrived in the kitchen.

He glanced behind him to see Tony collapsing into one of the chairs and stare vacantly at Bruce's newspaper. With a sigh, Steve grabbed another plate and set it down loudly in from of the man, debating whether or not he should tell him to go wash before breakfast... but decided against it. Would probably be the last they saw of him today if he did, and he still really did need to talk to him.

Startled caramel eyes met his own momentarily before he jerked his towards the pancakes and then down to the clean plate. For some reason, his throat didn't feel like working. Tony seemed to understand what he was trying to convey, thankfully. Unfortunately, he wasn't about to just do what Steve wanted. Oh, no. that would be too easy. Honestly, who didn't eat breakfast? That was worrisome.

It took a little convincing-with the help of Jarvis, of all people...er, things- but finally Tony ate a bit...

And looked shocked before devouring the rest. Huh. Must not have realized that he was hungry. He stood there and just watched for a bit with what felt like...amusement? Couldn't be.

At least they weren't snapping at one another like he'd expected when Tony finally joined them... Maybe apologizing to his teammate wouldn't be as hard as he thought.

* * *

**Alright, finally have this started... sorry for, well. This? Yeah, that's about right. At the moment, I have a basic idea as to where the story is going, but I have yet to write down chapter summaries for myself to go on, but I wanted this to go up before everyone and their mothers had seen the new movie to make it clear that this is pre-IM3 in cases anyone missed the first AN. Thank you all for reading, see you next week. Enjoy.**


	2. Disconnect

** Alright. Watched IM3 again, and the Avengers with my buddy... who had never seen it. In that order. Absolutely ridiculous. And he was so confused... honestly, who sees all of the Phase 1 movies **_**skips the Avengers**_**, but goes and sees Phase 2 movies anyway? Well, fixed that right quick. **

** Well, on with the story... Sorry about what I came up with here... it just, fit, somehow, in my mind. I'd like to just thank everyone who favorites, followed and commented on this story already. Definitely keeps me writing daily! Anyway, enjoy. **

** Disclaimer: I don't own... Obvious, but needs to be said, I suppose. **

_"Don't be afraid, it's the price we pay: The only easy day was yesterday"_ We Are One~ 12 stones

* * *

Ok, so maybe breakfast wasn't all bad. It was still ridiculously sweet for the time of day, but after that first bite, that pretty much stopped mattering. It was filling, and while he had eaten a bit more recently than Jarvis had estimated, it had probably taken a lot of his body's energy to power T'Chaka's device. Had to be that... it just wasn't like him to get hungry like this.

Honestly, it just felt better having an excuse to be eating in the morning... as a child, he'd stopped doing so when he was four, when his father had suddenly decided that his work was much more important than the few hours a day he'd used to put aside to spend with his son.

Halfway through the meal, that was the thought that popped into his head and he wasn't so hungry any more... in fact, he felt completely sick to his stomach and he considered stopping. A single glance over his shoulder dissuaded him.

Steve was still standing there, just watching him with those bright blue eyes, relaxed. There was even what could have been a hint of amusement in his face... if he hadn't spent so much time with the man, he'd probably have missed it... for a second, it seemed like the better option not to have noticed.

He kept eating, just to keep Steve happy. It would be worth being uncomfortable and feeling awful for a few hours.

Soon after, Steve left: headed down to the gym on the third floor, according to a very subtle check through Jarvis's mainframe he accessed via a tablet cleverly hidden under the table when he finally set his fork down. Not a moment after, Natasha was gone, out the front door... probably doing something for Fury, and Clint bounded after her, the syrup seeming to do wonders in bringing him up to full sassy asshole mode that made being anywhere near him both amusing and potentially dangerous, if any of the others were around.

He sighed as he remembered one of the reasons he usually put off eating: doing the dishes. Such a waste of time, but Pepper would always yell at him when he tried to get one of his bots to do it, and he didn't exactly like to waste his time wrist deep in dirty, soapy water when there were obvious ways around it.

He stood with another sigh and reached for his plate... which disappeared under his finger-tips. He glanced up to see a small smile on Bruce's face as he moved to the kitchen with two plates.

"Go shower, Tony. I'll do this, I don't mind. You look like a cross between a kitten who got into a messy garage and a robot that sat through an explosion."

"...That would be a frightening creature, Brucy. Don't joke about that kind of shit... you'll give people nightmares." Bruce just laughed and turned to the sink. Well, at least he didn't have to do that... which was nice. His head was pounding and his stomach was churning.

"Shower...right. Sounds like a good idea."

Sounded like a good idea: In theory, it probably was. In execution, not so much.

He strode to the elevator perfectly well, got in, and punched in his floor of the Tower... and stumbled out when it reached it's destination. Movement: not a good idea. Uhg, had he swallowed more motor oil than he thought? It was possible, who knows how long he'd been passed out in that puddle.

He fell to his hands and knees upon reaching his bathroom and he had to pull himself to the toilet as he became violently sick.

Breakfast was an awful invention, and whoever came up with it should be ashamed.

It didn't take long for him to run out of anything to actually heave up, not that his stomach noticed, as it kept insisting he keep going until ran out of energy and was finally able to let his face rest on the edge of the porcelain. He forced his hand up enough to flick the switch that let a flush of water wash his breakfast away, but otherwise just lay there.

Today was not going well. Really, what an awful way to start a day: To wake up hating pancakes, stop hating pancakes after being all but force-fed by a guy you just so happened to be in love with but didn't remember feeling the same way about you, then before the hour was up, hate pancakes again. Worth it, though, even now as the back of his throat burned and he was a dizzy, miserable mess. Steve was happy...or at least happier, he supposed.

This whole throwing up thing was so much less fun when you weren't shit-face drunk. He couldn't remember the last time he'd actually been sick without the help of alcohol...

He let his eyes slide closed to ease the spinning and pounding...

And jumped awake twenty minutes later at a soft rapping at the edge of the open bathroom door. He groaned as he tilted his head to get a better angle on whoever was standing there... and took a few seconds before he was able to make out the frames of Bruce's glasses. He concentrated on them until the rest of the man slowly came into focus.

Their eyes met, and Tony still couldn't bring himself to lift his head. Fuck, it was hurting as bad as when he'd first woken up again.

"...Are you puking?"

"I'd prefer to think of it as an involuntarily rejection of half digested nutrition." Bruce leaned against the door-frame and smiled.

"Call it whatever you want, Tony. It doesn't change what it is."

"Uhgg... new rule: Breakfast foods: perfectly fine, so long as I've been up for at least five hours." Bruce raised an eyebrow.

"What, not just cutting it out altogether?" he snorted.

"Fuck no. Those pancakes weren't bad... and who could say no to a doughnut?" Bruce shook his head with a sigh.

"I don't know... I could live without donuts. So, you want help to bed, or just want to hang out in there until you can stand on your own?" Tony snorted a laugh and let his eyes slide closed again.

"Stay here, of course. This bathroom is already practically a garage for the amount of oil I've managed to smuggle in here this morning, I'd prefer to keep it out of my bed. That shit stains." Bruce's footsteps faded away momentarily then got louder as a heavy blanket was draped over him. His eyes stayed closed, but the smile on his face grew by a fraction.

"Thanks, buddy."

"Just feel better. We're all watching a movie tonight."

He nodded a bit. He vaguely remembered Jarvis informing him that they group had been watching a movie together every night since they moved in. Could be fun. "No worries. I'm never down long. Too much to do to put up with being sick."

After a few moments he heard his bedroom door close and cracked one eye open. A full water bottle was sitting on the counter. That would be nice in a bit. He pulled the blanket closer and shivered into it, trying to move his head as little as possible and drifted off again.

* * *

**S**

Steve sighed and leaned heavily against the punching bag, steadying it as it tried to swing away from his weight. Why had he almost gone to Tony when he _smiled_ at him? The man probably had just been smiling at the coffee. But it had felt _aimed_ at him, and it was driving him crazy. All while watching his teammate eat, he'd tried to puzzle it out. After that, he'd come to the gym, still trying to figure it out, and just couldn't.

Tony wasn't the type to just like people for the hell of it, especially after last week, he was sure: Otherwise, they probably would have gotten along better right off the bat.

He was still biting back the smile that had been threatening him since Tony's eyes filled with shock and what could have been called delight in any other person as he'd eaten. It had been captivating to watch, as awkward as that realization made him feel. He looked to the ceiling... it had taken a few days before someone had explained who...what... Jarvis was to him, and they all expected him to be terrified or something. In actuality, he constantly talked to the A.I.

Not really about anything important, of course, just discussion to fill the air without fear of judgment, simple as that. It felt... well, not normal, not much in this time was what he would call normal... but _expected._ This was what many people of his generation had seen when they looked in their own minds when asked about what the future held in store. It was the one thing about this time that he absolutely loved: He was in the childhood fantasies of just about every kid from him neighborhood.

"He did enjoy the pancakes... didn't he, Jarvis?" Why _that_ was what he asked was as much of a mystery to him as the breakfast one that plagued him, but it felt right to ask... for a few seconds, at least. Not so much after Jarvis hesitated before answering, calm as ever.

"I... believe that he did, Captain." He gave an expectant look towards nothing in particular, knowing from experience that Jarvis would pick up from his facial signals to continue. "... I believe it was a bit much for him, however. He is not used to eating so soon after he gets up, nor that much in a sitting and is, to put it delicately... entering a digestion interruption sequence." His brows knitted together.

"Pardon?"

"He's throwing up, Captain." There was almost a hint of exasperation under the smooth voice.

"...It was two pancakes, how the hell does that come even close to 'eating too much in one sitting!?"

"I hope you do not expect a response, seeing as I do not have a digestive system and would not know. Would you like me to look it up for you?" Well, he'd hoped for one, but he shook his head. "Very good."

"Is... uh, Is he Ok?" It only felt polite to ask, he rationalized.

"Sir will be fine. Dr. Banner has seen to him, and he is sleeping at the moment."

"Oh." A flash of heat burst in his stomach at that, but he dismissed it. Good. It was good that Bruce was keeping an eye on him... maybe he should go check, just in case. He was the leader of the team, after all. It was his responsibility to make sure, after all... it wasn't weird.

He sighed again and shook his head. Maybe Tony had only been acting strangely this morning because he was sick? It didn't make much sense, of course. Who the hell got more friendly and actually potentially nice when they were sick? He ran a hand through his damp hair... he might as well check. He had to go shower, anyways.

He snuck into Tony's room with a sense of disembodiment... there really was no point in sneaking, He knew absently... Jarvis would see anyway and no one would be going to see Tony, especially not in his room. He was really only sneaking at the moment because it felt right.

The bedroom itself was rather empty and so impersonal that it verged on painful. The bed was clean and completely unruffled... as if it hadn't been touched in weeks... which wasn't surprising. Not really, given it was Tony's room he was looking into. He was at a loss for a few moments on where to actually look for the man. But only a few. Then he wandered into the bathroom, and there lay Tony.

He was laying sprawled on the floor, looking completely ruffled in a thick navy blue blanket, skill soaked in oil... which was now smeared on the cool white of the bathroom, floor, sink, toilet, everywhere. Must have been a bit restless in his sleep. Steve smirked, glad that no one is around to see him watching the man. Why hadn't he just gone to his bed? It certainly seemed he could use it.

Still, the man looked a lot more relaxed -even pale, dirty and looking all too tired- as he lay on the granite floor, asleep. It didn't make him look younger, really, or even more peaceful. He still looked ready to fight at a moments notice, there was no doubt about that, it was just that he just looked less guarded. More natural. More vulnerable to the world around him that he so easily dismissed awake.

Given that it was Tony Stark that he was talking about, that change should mean a great deal, but suddenly, it didn't. This man, sleeping miserably on the floor in a bathroom, was really the same man that had in the past week risked his life not once, but twice in order to save people who couldn't care less for him. They weren't distinct from one another, there was no major change. He was simply who he was, not what everyone saw, to be sure. But no different than he had ever been.

Steve couldn't remember ever needing just being near someone, to help them because they were who they were. He wanted to lift the dark man up and tuck him into the hug empty bed as carefully as he could and just make him feel better. To lay next to him and be there for him when he woke.

He all but ran from the room, yelling at his own mind.

What was wrong with him? Seriously? He should have never gone to see Tony. He should have punched everything in the gym until it was a completely unrecognizable pulp of its former self, he should have drawn, gone for a run, anything. Now he was stuck thinking about his teammate, the one person he would prefer to pretend didn't exist. He was stuck wondering about him. He thought that he'd gotten over all of this, especially towards other men,, when he'd met Peggy.

For not the first time since the serum, he wished that he could get drunk and just forget everything. And this time, there was no Peggy there to offer reassurance and a kind word, no one to just hold him until he was ready to face the world. There was nothing for him here, but he couldn't just abandon everything... they needed him. The need wasn't as desperate as it could have been, seeing as there were others to share the load with him, but he was still needed. He had never been once to leave someone in need behind.

He couldn't think properly. He needed something to take his mind off of things... talking to Jarvis was out of the question, of course... he felt he'd already made a fool of himself to intimate objects today. It was helpful at times, but it made him feel just a bit past crazy at times.

Natasha and Clint were still both out doing something for Shield, so sparring was out of the question. Not that he would have been too up for that. He had worked out most of his frustration and energy already. He didn't trust himself to draw at the moment... he wasn't sure what his muse would be. He was definitely looking forward to the movie that night.

He raced to his room and practically threw himself into the shower, allowing the cool of the water wash his confusion away for a moment, and let himself relax.

He stayed in the shower probably longer than he should have, but the hot water in the Tower never seemed to run out, and he just loved it. It gave him time to straighten out his mind, and push whatever it was he was feeling away, deep down with his lost and broken memories where it belonged, where he could deal with it later.

By the time he got himself dry and dressed and wandered into the main kitchen for something to eat, the Natasha and Clint had gotten back and were relaxing there. Clint sprawled over on the chairs, eyes shut tight and obviously exhausted, Natasha across from him with a small smirk that was easy to miss, reading forms spread out before her. Her eyes darted to him for a fraction of a second when he came in, but otherwise, neither moved. As much as he was looking forward to it, he wasn't really sure if they were up to a movie tonight... they both did look pretty worn out. He said as much.

Natasha raised an eyebrow and Clint snorted out a laugh and mumbled something about how "only quitters quit," too lost in exhaustion for him to make out most of it. The red-head shook her head.

"No... actually I was thinking that we could start after you eat. I'm sure there's a marathon you should be part of." a grin split his face and he nodded, suddenly not very hungry... Movies with the others were always fun.

He made a quick sandwich and stared at Natasha with his eyes wide until she finally sighed with a roll of her eyes and stood up, nudging Clint's shoulder to wake him up. "Alright, lets go. Jarvis, could you get Bruce?"

"Already taken care of, ma'am." she nodded and grabbed Clint's arms, physically dragging him into the living room with ease. Clint didn't seem to care. They were all settled in and trying to decide what to watch when Bruce showed up with a small smile... Tony was by his side, a bowl of popcorn balanced in one hand.

It looked like he had showered, his damp hair sticking up at crazy angles and his skin was no longer stained black with grease and oil. He certainly looked more well rested than before... he definitely didn't look like he'd been sleeping on the floor of a bathroom for most of the day.

Fury raced through him and he couldn't help it. He wasn't completely sure what it was that did it... it could have been how the other man was walking, for gods sake. Or it could have been the fact that he should be in bed, resting.

"What do you think you're doing?" It came out just as viciously as it had sounded in his mind, and he let himself feel the shock at how much pleasure he got at the surprised look Tony gave him... it didn't last long. Actually, as soon as he saw the very real hurt in the others eyes, he wanted to hit himself.

What the hell was wrong with him? He'd never been a cruel person... even people he hated, he was polite to. He had to find some way to get over this... it would cause problems on the field. What was worse: _Stark_ was actually the one who kept his temper, this time. He didn't snap back at Steve, didn't even vocally convey his hurt like Steve had expected... but those eyes... they made him feel like a part of him had just died.

Before he could say or do anything in apology, Stark had a small smirk on his face, shoved the bowl of popcorn at Clint, and turned on his heel and started for the elevator.

"Nothing, don't worry. Just know how pissy _some_ people get when they don't have their snack. Enjoy the movie." His voice was controlled: practiced. Fake. That sent another stab of hurt deep into Steve's gut, but he stayed quiet. He'd caused this... and at this point, he was probably just going to make it worse if he said anything else.

The others gave looks that ranged from confused to vaguely insulted, but they stayed silent... Clint started to say something, but Natasha smacked the back of his head. He shot a glare over his shoulder at the red-head, but she just shook her head at him. Steve couldn't watch.

Suddenly, watching a movie with his team didn't seem nearly as good as it had only a few minutes ago.

* * *

**Sorry about that ending, I know it kind of switched really quickly into... that, but Steve's troubled. Can't just have them be immediately friendly because Tony flashes a (admittedly) charming smile or two at him. It'll be worked out next chapter.**

** Also, sorry for the sick Tony here. I was... rather stuck on how to get to this end, and this seemed like it was a good way to make it work. Thanks for reading, hope you enjoy. **


	3. Affliction

**Alright, starting to write this chapter a bit earlier in the day than I'm used to... the sun is still up(kind of, it's been raining a lot on and off) so it feels a bit weird, but I have shit to do tonight, so I really need to get my day one writing out of the way, and I try not to take too long with it if I can't get in the mood for writing. **

** Enjoy.**

** "**_Said I'm Ok, but I know how to lie." _Fighting- Yellowcard

* * *

There was absolutely no way Tony was miserable. Of course it wasn't possible for even Captain America to hurt him with nothing more than harsh words and an angry tone in his voice. And most of all, there was absolutely no way that Tony just sat in the corner of his lab for the most of the night after Steve snapped at him, surrounded by his rather distressed bots, trying to think of anything-everything- that would keep him from crying.

Oh, who was he trying to kid, he was absolutely pathetic. Steve really hadn't even been that mean to him, really. He rarely got through a single day without much worse being said to him... but to hear such overwhelming angry- disgust, hatred, everything- from the one person he'd actually allowed to let himself love? Hurtful. To hear it directed at him, knowing that there was not a hint of remorse behind anything said: just about a thousand times worse. He didn't want to have to deal with it.

And, ok, he might have exaggerated. He only lay on the cold stone of the shop floor maybe two hours before deciding he _needed_ something to do work on, anything to keep his hands busy. Maybe his mind would follow.

Even as he sat at one of the work benches and picked up some scrap of electronic something and started fiddling with it, he had no idea what he was working on. It was just something he did, he didn't even need to think about what his hands were forming anymore. He hated it as much as he loved it... he'd have preferred something more challenging right then, but his mind was too far off to come up with anything.

His bots said nothing... they were only bots, after all. It wasn't as if they actually _could,_ had they wanted to. Still, their relative silence and un-judgmental whirrs helped.

Halfway through some unknown project, Dummy rolled up next to him and presented a stick glass proudly. It was filled with a thick green liquid... Tony wished he could just ignore it, but Dummy was a pretty persistent robot, prepared to follow him all day, if that's what it took.

So he took it suspiciously and lifted an eyebrow. The metal claw stared back at him expectantly.

Sighing, he put his lips to the glass and let the liquid meet his tongue carefully. Yep, big fucking surprise. Anti-freeze.

He spat it back into the glass and shoved it aside. "Useless." But the bot just whirred happily and sped off across the shop. He shook his head... despite everything, the scrap of metal trying to kill him with its complete ignorance of the human digestive system and fondness for its creator was the best thing that had happened to him since he'd found himself on the floor of his lab the previous morning. That was... a little sad, admittedly. It made him smile anyway.

A few hours later, Bruce showed up, completely at ease among the machines that littered nearly every inch of the shop. He stood there for a few minutes before Tony finally pulled away from the explosive-acid arrowhead he was working on for Hawkeye's quiver and gave the other scientist an expectant look.

"He's just worried, you know." Awesome. Just what he didn't feel like talking about. Still, it was Bruce.

So, Tony snorted and pushed away from the bench. "I know. Still, odd way he chooses to show it, wouldn't you think?" Bruce shrugged.

"I'm not saying it's acceptable, not excusing it... just trying to help smooth things over between my... friends. Huh... I guess we're friends..." He muttered the last, probably only meant for himself.

"Sure are. And if Cap would just relax a little, he might realize that too. Or at least see that I'm trying."

"...Was that affection I just heard? From you..? No, impossible." Bruce shook his head, eyes wide as if trying to see in a dark room. Tony snorted, but shot a small smile at his friend. Bruce smiled back. "Since when have you not hated him? I mean, you two haven't really talked or anything since the invasion."

"I do have emotions, you know. And... as soon as I can figure out how to explain it to you without sounding like a basket-case to you, I will. Really. But not now." He turned back to his project, almost feel Bruce nodding at his back before leaving... probably for the best. As great as Bruce was, he really didn't want to have to deal with anyone right then.

Not that that ever mattered... to be fair, he was alone for a while. He couldn't have said if it was four minutes or four hours, probably some time in between. Then, suddenly, he wasn't alone. It wasn't like someone just opened the door and broke his solitude, no. Instead it was more he absorbed his project, he didn't even notice Steve standing there at first.

If it had been anyone else, just standing there staring, so much like he used to that when Tony finally did notice, he almost glanced around for Howard to pop out of nowhere sulkily. Steve didn't notice he'd noticed right away: he just kept staring at his hands as they deftly swept over the metal, gently checked the wiring. His blue eyes were wide and full of youthful wonder. Tony had missed that look.

So, instead of immediately acknowledging him, he just watched as Steve watched him, absorbing the sight and tried to forget how much he was still hurting, under all of the logic he lost himself in. It was... amazing, just watching him. Eventually, though, he did run out of work to do, and couldn't figure out anything to pretend to be working any more, and Steve's eyes jerked up to meet his. He seemed startled as he found caramel eyes waiting for his.

Steve shuffled his feet uncomfortably and gulped.

"Look...Tony, I wanted to.."

"Apologize?" His eye twitched slightly... He fucking hated apologies. They were just words, they never actually meant a damn thing. Steve blinked widely at the harsh tone then winced.

"Yeah, I was..."

"Don't bother. Forgiven. Now, forget it." It was awkward and tense, but there seemed to be real sorrow and regret filling Steve's eyes, so it was enough. It warmed him as much as it hurt him to see. He smiled, to himself more than anything, and turned back to his work before he could do anything stupid. As much as he wanted to hold, him, talk, stare into his eyes, yesterday had made something clear: he'd have to move slowly... and since slow was _not_ something that Tony Stark did, he would wait for Steve to cool down a little.

If he was going to do things slow and right for once, he was going to make damn sure he didn't fuck it up by being too..._himself_. Well, less of what people expected him to be, at the very least. He was far too himself to not be _him... _but for Steve, he was willing to give up that much and try something new.

Being honest with himself, it wasn't really that new to him... he had already taken it slowly with him before... but this would be the first time he was aware that's what he'd be doing and that the other party was... or would be... interested. He wasn't looking too forward to the in-between, trying to get Steve not to hate him... but everything else had potential.

* * *

**S**

Steve couldn't sleep.

First, he couldn't concentrate on that damn movie, especially with the way everyone just watched him through the entire thing out of the corners of their eyes- or glared in Bruce's case- and he was too much a soldier to ignore the feeling of constantly being watched being watched. And now he couldn't sleep.

It was obvious why, of course: Guilt. He knew that, plain, simple, easy. This was completely his own fault, and he should be taking responsibility for what he'd done wrong... except he couldn't fix it. Or rather, he didn't trust himself to be around Tony without instead making everything worse...It wasn't like he wanted to or anything, it just seemed he couldn't help himself lately.

It all really made him more confused anything... He'd never behaved this way towards anyone before in his life and he hadn't thought it to be in his nature to be out-right cruel to anyone: especially not anyone who hadn't actually done a thing to bring it on themselves. You know, other than being the embodiment of everything he'd lost with the added bonus of futuristic that before he had ever only dreamed of... but it just wasn't his fault.

He thought about it for hours...

And hours later it was just as pointless as it had been in the beginning.

Only one new piece of information made itself clear to Steve: as awful as their first meeting had been, as much as each of the little stabs at one another had hurt: this hurt more. At least then Tony had started it, had fought back. He didn't feel as bad about it. But now, knowing full well that Tony _could_ stand up to him, _could_ bite back twice as hard and he didn't? He felt like he was kicking a sick puppy... and didn't realize it until after it was limping away. He felt like a bully. He had never felt so weak before, even before the Serum.

No, he didn't want to make it worse... but he absolutely could not leave it like it was. He really needed to snap out of … whatever this was. Quickly. At least he worked well when the other man was being Iron Man... there, it was almost eerie how naturally they worked together. He wished it was that easy out of the battlefield.

It was really almost laughable. If he were to tell Bucky, back in the day, that he was actually acting like this towards someone he barely knew, he really don't know how the other would react. Probably make jokes but ultimately wouldn't believe him. He quickly pushed the thoughts of his friend away... he didn't need to be thinking about that right now. It might have been 70 years ago, but it was still a fresh wound.

He stared a the ceiling until the sun finally began to rise and a soft orange spread slowly across his window before he finally decided to give up trying to sleep.

As usual, he was the first one awake that morning, not that he expected any different. He was grateful, though, that none of the team was there to just stare at him like they had last night... this way he at least had a chance to work out how he planned his apology to go. Maybe that way nothing would fall out of place... not much of a hope, but it was better than nothing. He got dressed, fully intending to go for his daily jog, rubbed the weariness from his eyes as he made his way to the front of the building. He unlocked the door and stepped out of the front door... and jumped back inside.

Was it really possible for it to be that cold without snow falling? He shook his head and started to go out again, bracing himself, but he stopped... with a night of no sleep, he really didn't feel like dealing with the cold... It never brought up any good memories, so he actually considered not going. Maybe he would just go down to Tony's lab earlier and come up with some apology off the top of his head...

He practically flew into the chill of the morning.

The run was miserable and it didn't help him come any closer to figuring out what to say, other than the general "I'm sorry" thing... somehow, he felt Tony wouldn't go for that. If there was anyone in the world likely to hold a grudge, no matter if someone were to go out of their way to try to make things better, it would be that man. A small piece of deep down in him felt betrayed even thinking that, and he was quick to squash it down.

He would have felt worse about doing so, of course. In fact, he wouldn't have thought it at all... the cold definitely made him more numb and open to the misery. When he finally got back to the tower, he felt almost blue with the cold... a quick check in the mirror proved that he wasn't, but he almost checked again _when_ he got to the kitchen and saw Bruce sitting at the table coldly. Thankfully, the other man seemed to be over openly glaring at him, regaining his natural calm.

They stared at one another for a moment or two. Steve finally winced and sighed.

"...I know." Bruce just nodded.

"Good. I know you two butt head, but you really hurt him there. I know he seems... rough. He has reason to be, but he is good under it all. I wish you could see that." He stood and left. He didn't give Steve time to respond... or else he was just a little bit too stunned to figure out what to say. Usually he wasn't quite so blunt. And sure, he and Tony were closer than most of the others were... excluding Clint and Natasha... and yeah, maybe people were quick to judge Tony... but sometimes people weren't more than they appeared on the surface. He'd just assumed that Tony was one of them, given that just about all of Shield seemed to dislike him on some level or another.

Maybe he had misjudged the man more than he'd thought, if the angriest person he'd ever met could like him. It still wouldn't make it any easier to be around him, but it melted through the chill enough for him to feel worse about everything.

He glanced to the kitchen and considered... the others could do their own breakfast today. He couldn't stall any longer... if Tony was hurt like Bruce seemed to think, it would be just cruel to make him go through more pain. And before Tony, Steve had never been cruel, he refused to just let himself become that now.

The glass of the doors leading to Tony's shop slid open before Steve could reach them and shut silently behind him. Which was a good thing... there was no handle to be seem, and he really didn't want to break the glass just to apologize. That would have been less than helpful, of course.

The lab was even more futuristic than anything he'd seen before. It was like being thrown into the future all over again... but he didn't mind. It was more comfortable, natural, like the small segment of the world where someone _belonged._ Not everyone... just the one person. But the comfort of belonging filled the room.

Tony was absorbed in whatever he was working on... an open case of metal and gutted wire, delicate calloused fingers rifling through it all, tweaking here, pausing there. It was fascinating.

It... felt right to watch him. It was soothing in a way that he couldn't quite put words to. He stood off to the side, just watching. If reminded him of Howard in the lab... but he wasn't angry about it as he would normally would have been. It was too familiar... even his memories of Howard had a different feel to it than that. That was... uncomfortable. Like the images didn't add up together. This just... did.

He didn't know how long he just watched. Finally the others man's hands stopped and he forced his eyes up away from the device to Tony's face. Warm deep brown eyes met his gently, shining... he almost looked happy.

He opened his mouth, and started shakily... before he could get more than a handful of nervous words out, Tony cut him off. The second the other man opened his mouth, Steve had a bad feeling... great. Another fight. Instead, Tony surprised him.

"Don't bother. Forgiven. Now, forget it." despite the fact he was trying to hide some sort of irritation, Steve was actually happy to have been interrupted. Confused, but it definitely was going a lot better than he'd thought it would... if anything, he'd thought Tony would be holding it over his head, or at least mock him a little. The fact that he didn't almost felt like it meant something. What it might be, he had no idea.

Tony broke eye contact and turned back to the mess of wiring that he'd been working on, and Steve couldn't help himself.

"Wait, really? Just like that. I was a jerk, and you just... forgive me?" Tony shrugged but didn't look at him.

"Sometimes simple things should stay simple, Cap. Not often, but, hey. Shit happens, I should that know that better than most people. Besides... It's just in your nature to feel guilty, even when you have no reason to be." The other man made a pained face before shaking his head. "At any rate, your conscience should be clear, now, so I'll give you a piece of advice I expect you to at least carefully consider."

He should have known that he couldn't go to the shop without getting into a fight... again, he was proven wrong. "I don't do well with... apologies. Either you regret something or you don't, but either way, it's just a way to make yourself feel better. Forget the fight and move on, or stay pissy and angry until you can get past it, simple as that. If you're sorry, it shows, the words themselves are completely pointless, though. So, you know. Don't feel the need to again. I might get more irritated."

Steve swallowed and nodded dumbly. He was sure he'd known someone back in his own time with a similar philosophy... he just couldn't put a name or face to them. Don't apologize... that might be alright.

"I'll try." Tony turned his head slightly, just enough to flash a soft smile at him, one edge of his mouth quirked up before turning back to the bench.

"Good. Glad we cleared that up."

Steve left the lab feeling more confused than when he'd gone down, and oddly peaceful. Almost content. Which, for some stupid reason made him angry... he wasn't sure what he was angry at, but he needed to go hit something. Badly.

He shook his head again and started walking towards the gym, trying to convince himself that this time, it wasn't Tony's fault. Because of course it wasn't. The urge to blame things on the dark man was becoming stupid and he just wished he could figure out some better way. At least he could take his anger out on a punching bag than Tony this time. He wasn't ready for another night of guilt.

* * *

**Yay, done with that chapter. Not that it was hard to write, I just feel better when I have something to post on Fridays beforehand instead of having to rush and force it in a single day if I slack. Hope you guys enjoyed it, and thank you all for reading. **

** Also, been having trouble coming up with chapter names, so if one doesn't fit, it was the best I could pull out of my hat... thankfully I haven't actually gotten to the point of just pulling them out of a hat at random, so you know. There's that... actually, that seem like a relatively good idea right now. Huh. **


	4. Borderline

**Alright, new chapter. Thank everyone who gave a review, favorited, followed and read it. I hope that you all enjoy. **

** I'll stop using split PoV so much as soon as things start happening more, which will probably be soon. For now, this just makes it a little bit easier as I work out the story a bit, so enjoy it while it lasts or tolerate it while I come up with new shit to write.**

_"__I'd be willing to bet that if we don't back down you and I will be the ones that are holding the crown in the end."_ Frontline~ Pillar

* * *

There came a point of time where it was inevitable the Tony had to pull himself away from his shop. In the past, it had always been one of the worse points in his life. This time, he really couldn't say he minded too much.

His eyes were sore and dry, his head ached and he was rather sore from having spend the most of two consecutive nights on the cold stone floor. He didn't like it: it made him feel old. He wanted nice, warm sheets, the soft glow of the tv, not to mention the mind numbing distance from his own mind that came with watching whatever happened to be playing.

Most of all, he didn't feel like being alone. It was another strange occurrence for him... he rarely got lonely, and when he did, usually people weren't around for him to just go to.

It turned out to be a bit awkward for him, even though he had known that there were actually people in the building when he finally stepped up into the living world. Thankfully it was only Bruce sitting the large table as he climbed the stairs, so no one was really there to notice his surprise and the one that was familiar enough with him to know to just ignore it.

Even as he was sitting down, it just felt... off somehow. Sure, he enjoyed spending time with Bruce and talking with him, knowing that he could talk about nearly anything without the other minding...even if the other scientist did fall asleep at the oddest times... but that wasn't what he wanted at the moment.

He didn't want to have an intellectual conversation where he'd have to at least try to make sense, -again a first- just someone to share companionship with for a while. He really wasn't sure who to go to for that.

Clint was too much of a joker and admittedly hyper for _anything_ relaxing, and the air around Natasha was too tense, charged and almost uncomfortable for him to be able to... not to mention he wasn't fully sure if he trusted her. To fight by his side, of course. To not go running to Fury if he so much as coughed the wrong way, not so much. It wasn't her fault, of course... it was just because of who she was. And, well. There was always Steve.

He wouldn't have minded being around Steve, but they usually talked, or were actively doing something something else. He wasn't sure if he would be able to just be relaxed around him right now, not fully, with his present attitude towards him. He didn't want to step wrong again so quickly. Did that make him feel a little cowardly for even thinking it? Unfortunately, it did. The only reason he could admit that much to himself was simply because he was really too tired to bother with censoring his own mind.

It took him too long for his taste to realize the twilight was drawing into the room, casting shadows through the house even as the lights flickered on by themselves. Bruce looked up as the other man glanced around and set down the book that had been holding his attention. He actually looked slightly started himself.

"What?" Tony raised an eyebrow.

"Oh, I just thought you would be down there longer. You seemed pretty upset this morning." Ah, this morning then. That was good... at least he hadn't been down there for days like he normally was. He shrugged, but didn't respond and Bruce didn't wait long for one. At least he knew him well enough to realize that when he didn't feel like talking, he wouldn't, and now was probably one of those times. Especially not about what had happened earlier. It hadn't hurt or anything like Bruce probably though to be the reason for his quiet demeanor. It was just... private. It wasn't like him to be private about anything in his life, not by a long shot, but it felt right that this instance should be considered private.

So, instead of pushing it, Bruce just nodded and looked down at his watch with a smile. "Well, movie time... feel up to trying to join us again?"

He considered. It was what he wanted, really. Tv, warm room, people who wouldn't be trying to push him to talk or _do_ anything. It would be nice. And hopefully Steve wouldn't have the same reaction as he previously had. This time at least he was better prepared to handle it. Instead of answering, he stood and Bruce took the hint. He looked tense, though.

"Oh, relax." Bruce just fixed him with a look before shaking his head slowly. Tony rolled his eyes. "Ok, would you prefer if I didn't go?" Bruce's eyes widened.

"Of course not... just, you know."

"Really, I'm a big boy, I can deal with it." Bruce nodded but didn't relax. Tony sighed before following after the other man to the elevator. The ride to what had been dubbed the movie room was silent but quick.

They exited the elevator in the same, easy silence, but the two assassins turned to stare at them anyway as if they had been shouting to one another at the tops of their lungs. Steve was sprawled out over the couch, eyes shut. He looked exhausted and Tony couldn't help the shot of worry that sparked through him. It wasn't natural to see the Captain tired like this.

Clint grinned in the scientists' direction. "What, actually going to stick around this time?" Steve's eyes shot open and he looked at Tony for half a second before blushing and glancing away, shame still filling his deep blue eyes. Well, that just wouldn't do... he grinned.

"One condition." Natasha raised an eyebrow and Steve's expression turned suspicious. "I pick the movie." Clint rolled his eyes.

"Yeah...no way in hell, metal head. You'd probably end up picking a documentary on space exploration or some shit..." Natasha rolled her eyes and turned away from them. Tony smirked.

"Too bad it wasn't a question." Clint winced and glared.

"Mind phrasing it like one?" Tony's smirk turned into a full smile.

"Jarvis, play file 36-487 sub-section b."

"Of course, Sir." Tony's grin widened as the lights automatically dimmed and the screen flashed to life. Bruce made his way over and sat in the corner recliner, all tension drained away from him while Tony collapsed into the couch between Natasha and Steve, pretending not to notice when the bigger man suddenly tensed.

Clint gave him a pained look from across the couch. "You have this movie in a file?"

He smirked. "I have most good movies stored in Jarvis, yeah. Saves time and space." Clint shook his head.

The second he was on the couch, music started playing quietly, and the sound of a prayer came from the screen.

"Oh, fuck. No... a religious movie? Come on, man, I thought you were better than this..." Clint was cut off as another voice, deep with an Irish accent cut in and a hint of recognition swept over his entire face, lighting it up from its former scowl. "Wait... is this what I think it is?" Tony nodded with another smirk. "Oh, fuck yes."

Natasha's eyes rolled again with a hint of a smile. Steve just looked confused. Bruce watched, confused as well until the two brothers stood to move to the front of the church before they left in the middle of the sermon, then his eyes widened too, a real smile spreading across his face.

"Boondock Saints?" Clint let out a small laugh at the semi-shocked question.

"Hell yeah. Awesome movie." Steve gave them all an odd look.

"Should I be worried?" Bruce smothered another smile.

"Why would you be?" He shrugged.

"It's a movie that Clint and Tony both approve of... and they've already started cussing and one of them just punched a dame." Tony smiled.

"Don't worry, Cap. It's a bit bloody, but I've had a feeling for a while that you'd like it." Oddly, Steve didn't look any less worried, though definitely more confused, but he nodded anyway and turned back to the movie. Even Natasha face broke into a smile... well, not quite a smile, but as close to a real one as Tony had ever seen on her that wasn't a full on fake. The room relaxed and he settled back and just enjoying the movie, muttering the lines under his breath. Clint quickly caught his voice and started doing the same.

He almost couldn't hold back a startled laugh... he'd thought he was the only one crazy enough to know this movie by heart. Sure, everyone who had seen it before knew the prayer, that was one of the main things he'd been looking forward to, when he chose the move, but having someone else murmuring along with him just made this movie even better.

Even Steve seemed to relax and actually enjoy the movie until about halfway through when he suddenly tensed up again and when Tony glanced over to him, his eyes were blank, lost. It didn't last long, and the corner of the other mans mouth moved to half-form a smile when he caught his eye, but it worried him. After that, he still quoted along with Clint, but his mind had left the movie.

**S**

* * *

Watching a movie with Tony actually joining was a strange experience, definitely different than when it was just the four of them as he had gotten used to. Usually they would watch silently, with Clint interjecting his opinion or an inappropriate joke- usually accompanied with a laugh- every now and then. He really wasn't sure if silence was possible with Tony there...

Clint and Tony both quoted the movie to one another under their breaths, each taking a brother both struggling not to laugh as they mimicked Detective Smecker. They weren't loud enough to be distracting but it did cause everyone to smile without realizing it at the oddest times. They didn't ever really smile at one another, they just smiled for the sake of smiling.

Natasha was really the only one who would catch herself before it could grow to anything more than a light flicker of her lips, but she still looked in either of the twos direction in anticipation, making it simple enough to figure out when something good was about to happen. Even Bruce seemed to relax and enjoy the movie more than he usually allowed himself to. They were small things, but it changed the atmosphere of the building into something more comfortable. It was... nice.

When the two brothers recited their prayer before killing their mark, Steve unconsciously tensed. He had the oddest sense of déjà vu and between one second and the next, he walking through a snow-covered forest with him team. Someone was laughing. The sound was intimately familiar and filled him with warmth, but he couldn't put a name to the one making the sound. Then it was gone, he was back in the Tower, staring at the Tv.

He shook his head. Nothing like that had happened before... it felt almost like a memory, but when he tried to think about anything about what had been happening, or even when it had been, he couldn't actually _remember. _It was maddeningly blank and he had to fight back another bout of anger... why couldn't he remember..? he had a nearly photographic memory, things didn't just slip away from him... expect this had. Maybe it had just never happened. That would make more sense. Well, it would have if it hadn't sparked such warmth in him that he hadn't felt for far too long. He yearned for more, and came up with nothing, again and again.

He finally gave up and forced himself to shrug it off to tried to relax into the movie again. It took more of an effort than he liked to admit.

Natasha shifted to glance over to Tony and Steve quickly followed her example- Usually their reactions to what was going on were as good as the movie itself- but frowned when the other man wasn't smiling and quoting along with Clint. He was staring at Steve, concern glazing his eyes. The others didn't seem to notice.

He felt his heart give a little jump at realizing Tony had actually noticed something had been briefly wrong with him. He was usually very good at hiding his reactions... Strange.

He attempted to smile back at the other man...it felt more like a grimace than a smile, but it must have worked seeing as Tony nodded slightly and turned his attention back to the screen. The dark man's reactions to the movie grew more subdued and some of the calm that had settled on the room just melted away. If the others noticed the change in atmosphere, they showed it no more than they had at his zoning out, and they continued to enjoy themselves. Which was a good thing... there was no reason to ruin every ones night... again... just because he couldn't control some of his reactions.

For the most part, Steve enjoyed himself as well, even if he was distracted. The movie was a bit gory and awkward, even sad, at times, but it was generally amusing and by the end he was actually smiling as they threatened a court-room full of people. That was something he had never seen himself agreeing with at any point in his life.

The credits rolled, and the others looked at one another, waiting to see if any of them were willing to do another movie. When no one moved to figure out which one sounded good, they stood to leave for the night, simple as that. Clint was grinning from ear to ear, but he looked exhausted as he and Natasha left, quietly murmuring to one another about Shield. Bruce was up and edged around the other two quickly, smiling a goodnight to both Steve and Tony as he passed.

Tony caught Steve's arm when he tried to stand, and he fought down a slight irritation. The others didn't notice that they stayed as they left for their respective rooms.

There was a short moment of complete silence in the room when the Tv shut itself off before Tony said anything.

"Seriously. You ok?" Steve nodded and Tony arced an eyebrow. He sighed and pushed the palms of his hands into his eyes.

"I'm _fine._ Just... you know. Weird flash-backs. I'm just tried." Tony's face went blank before he nodded. This time when Steve stood to leave, the other man let him. When he got to the door, he paused and shifted his head slightly to look back at the man and muttered a quick "thanks" he was sure Tony didn't hear. Caramel eyes drifted away from him and the door to stare at nothing.

And he was thankful, really, that someone actually cared enough to show concern. Was it a little weird that it just so happened to be the one person he hadn't been able to get along with since he had woken up in this new age, sure. But that wasn't really the odd part: the odd part was that it felt right that he had been concerned. It felt _normal. _It shouldn't have, he knew... that kind of behavior was the exact opposite of what anyone expected of Tony Stark. He wasn't supposed to care.

He got to his room and prepared for bed almost without incident- he'd managed to trip on thin air just outside his door when he hadn't been paying attention, and only saved himself from falling flat on his butt because said door had been there for him to catch his balance on- and he couldn't think of anything he wanted more than to just crawl into his bed and sleep.

But when he finally did, all he could do was stare up at the dark ceiling. He tried to close his eyes and they just shot open again without any conscious effort on his part. It was annoying more than anything... he wasn't even thinking about anything, he was tired, he should be asleep.

It lasted two hours.

He dreamed of ice. Ice and the cold- relaxing, numbing cold- just like every night since he'd woken up. This time, however, there was something different. Normally, nothing happened, he simply existed in the ice, he allowed himself to relax, allowed himself to let go because there was nothing to feel in that frozen waste-land he was trapped in, unmoving, unthinking. Normally, he simply was.

Instead of feeling the cold indifference the ice usually brought him, there was pain and loss jarring through his frozen form, so deep it made his bones ache. It made him want to scream, to cry, to live. But he couldn't move... he was trapped.

Suddenly the ice felt more like a cage than the comfort it usually was and he fought it, but nothing happened.

Ice cracked and flaked apart as he forced his eyes open to stare into the blue nothing that surrounded him. It was so bright and the melting ice burned as it struck his eyes but he forced them to remain open, drinking in the light. It was better than being trapped in the dark and the ice. A form shifted past the thick layer of ice the trapped him, slowly drawing closer, but was still too blurry to make out. It looked like it might have been a human. It reached out and pressed a hand to the dripping ice and the warmth seemed to radiate through the cold, trying to spark something in him. He just felt empty but for the desperate need to move, to find out what it wanted him to know. He forced his hand to move, try to catch the others hand through the frozen water.. the ice shifted...

And with a crash of thunder directly above his room, he startled awake. He wasn't sure whether he should he angry or grateful at the sudden awakening...

He jolted out of his bed and was scrambling to throw on a jacket before he fully realized he was awake, then he was out the door and jogging to the elevator, trying to control his shivering. His ice dream always made him cold.

His gaze shot to the gray sky the moment he stepped outside before he skidded to a halt. Rain poured around him, immediately soaking through the his night-wear as well as his thick jacket like they weren't there, his cold skin growing even more chilled. The clink of the elevator behind him didn't draw his attention away from the dark swirling clouds. The scuffling sound of someone tripping behind his made him turn, though, at the same time a familiar voice spat out a curse.

"Ow, fucking son of a cock loving whore." He almost broke into a laugh despite whatever was going on in the sky as he walked the two steps necessary to pull Tony back up to his feet, but shook it off again as his attention drew back to the clouds. Sparks of lightning flared across the surface of the massive front, and the muted roars of thunder seemed to soak into the sky, making the air feel dense, choking him with their muffled screams. He frowned. This wasn't going to be good...

Wind swirled around them momentarily before the clouds broke open to the force of an icy blue spear of light as sped through the sky and struck the tower. The force of it as it hit almost threw him off of his feet, but the warm, calloused hands suddenly gripping his forearms were enough to keep both of them upright.

A figure appeared in the light and Steve couldn't help but shiver again, this time not due to the chill of the downpour. It was a little too similar to his dream for comfort...And then the light was gone, and the sky gave one last peal of near-deafening thunder before the clouds evaporated in a short spurt of pounding hail that lasted all of three seconds before the storm stopped. The thickness clogging the air lifted and he felt like he could actually breath again.

Steve squinted through the water dripping from his now-soaked bangs over to the figure and as he should have expected, there stood Thor.

"Why do you get a dramatic entrance?" Clint's voice broke the night sky from where he was half leaning in the small covered elevator covered access area, Natasha and Bruce crowding in next to him to avoid the now-absent rain. "It's totally not fair to the rest of us, man."

Thor just grinned widely back at them.

* * *

**And there's Thor. Now was as good a time as any to bring him in. I actually feel good about how this chapter turned out. Hopefully you guys do too. **

** I would just like to offer my condolences to any effected by the Tornado in Oklahoma this past week. That shit is crazy. **


	5. Wondering

** Alright, my brothers dog had puppies... they are so damn cute, I want one, but my building doesn't allow dogs, sadly. Thanks for reading and enjoying. I'm sick, so let's get this out of the way quickly! **

** I don't think that my best friend is a good influence on me... 23:30, and we're off to find the magical coffee place that's still open in the area and then have a Pokémon battle using Red version. This man will be my death via coffee overload... I knew he was my best friend for a reason. **

** My bad if I don't get some of the characters personalities right... first time writing most of them.**

** Going for Steve PoV in full this time... lets see if I can still manage that, or if I get bored too quickly to handle it!**

_ "These days before you speak to me, you pause." _Be Calm~ Fun.

* * *

The shock of the sudden storm and Thor being there didn't last long and the second it wore off, Steve was freezing again. For a moment, he thought it was still just his reaction to the dream, but one glance over at Tony told him otherwise. The older man was shivering, though it didn't look like he noticed, the interested and far away look on his face completely oblivious to the weather around him.

He opened his mouth to say something to the demigod, but Steve put a hand on his shoulder to stop him. The rain thundered down around them still and groans of protest erupted from the sky. Definitely not the place for a conversation. He pushed the man gently towards the door and nodded at Thor to follow them. They both went in without any more prompting.

The elevator, thankfully, was large enough to hold them all and strong enough that none needed to wait in the rain... no doubt Tony's doing. The ride down the few floors it took them to get to the dinning and living area was short, and filled with Thor booming his greetings and well wishing to everyone individually. It was sweet, really, but headache inducing. It was a relief when they finally stopped and made their way into the larger space, even if Thor didn't seem to stop for a breath through his deafening story about getting back to Asgard.

They finally stopped by the kitchen, around the huge table they met at for their meals, Thor finally ran out of things to say, and just grinned at them, waiting for an equally enthusiastic response that he wasn't about to get.

They crowded around the table, three of them dripping wet while the other three stood smugly dry a short distance away from the puddles of water collecting on the stone floor. That would be a pain to clean up.

"You weren't gone long." All eyes darted of to Tony as he spoke and gently settled himself down into one of the sturdy chairs. "Here for pleasure or business?" Thor's grin faded.

"As wondrous as it is to see you again so soon, my friends, I'm afraid that I come as the bearer of grave news..." Tony rolled his eyes.

"Let me guess. Your lovely brother managed to escape?" Thor's frown deepened and Steve bit off a growl. Lovely? Please.

"Well... No. Loki remains safe on Asgard, prisoner in the All-Father's dungeons. He has, however manged to recruit one of... uh, an old lover of mine to his cause." Clint grinned.

"So we just have to take down one bitch? Not that hard." Natasha sent him an unamused glance, eyes filled with an unspoken threat. "Uh... I mean, it's not like she's... uhh... I got nothing. My bad, Tasha." She rolled her eyes at him before turning back to Thor.

Tony sighed. "Ok, at least it isn't 'Magic the Gathering' again... No offense, big guy."

"I do not understand your reference, so offense has been taken." Tony paused for a second, a small smile formed.

"You know, Thor, that's why I like working with you. Things just fall into one of two categories: You don't understand, or you just don't care."

"Again, I'm not sure what you mean...but I suppose it doesn't really matter presently."

"Exactly." Clint smothered a laugh and Bruce was shaking his head. Steve frowned. Not enough sleep by far to be dealing with this at this hour.

"So, if it isn't Loki, what should we prepare for?"

"Amora is an Enchantress." Bruce raised one eyebrow.

"Meaning?" Tony winced.

"Fuck, that means more magic. I fucking hate magic..." Steve couldn't help but agree. Magic when it came to them so far had meant absolutely nothing but trouble.

Bruce smirked. "You know, Magic is just technology and theory we don't understand yet."

Tony blinked at him. "Duh, why do you think I hate the damn stuff? I don't like not understanding things." Steve fought back a smile. Of course that was his reasoning behind it. He didn't know why that made him want to smile, but it did.

Bruce shook his head. "Well, if anyone were to figure it out..." Tony rolled his eyes and turned back to Thor.

"Ok, big guy. One a scale from one to Holy shit, how tough is this Amora?" Thor's eyebrows drew together in confusion.

"Holy shit being... what, exactly?" Natasha leaned onto the table, looking from the demigod to Tony.

"Lets say it's Loki bringing an army to New York." Thor nodded.

"In that case, he scales no greater than a seven." Clint rolled his eyes

"Oh. Great. So basically, just enough to annoy and piss us off, but not go down easily. Mag-fucking-nificent." Steve frowned at the archer, but silently agreed... this was not how he wanted to spend his morning. Which it was, now he admitted to himself, since obviously they weren't about to go back to sleep with this news. No one would like it, but it was their job... and he was their leader for a reason.

"Ok, we need to inform Fury about this. It'll be easier to come up with a plan when we have the whole of Shield behind us." Natasha and Thor both nodded while Clint looked a bit put out, but agreeable enough. Bruce was rubbing his eyes with one hand and only Tony frowned. Steve felt his eyes narrow into a glare.

"What, you disagree?" Tony snapped his gaze to him, angry for half a second before he visibly forced himself to relax. Steve stopped glaring and blushed lightly. No need to take his irritation out on the man.

"It's not that, Cappy, no need to get your panties in a bunch." His mouth tightened, but he let it go. He deserved that one, an eye for an eye... no need for this to develop into a fight... "I was just thinking... Magic's science that we don't understand, Bruce got that right... but what if someone on earth _did_ happen to understand?" All eyes shot to him. Bruce's eyes lit up.

"Spill." Tony shook his head slightly.

"I can't be sure, but... I might have a friend or two that can give us a little bit more insight into it, that's all, no promises." Clint raised an eye brow with a smirk.

"What, someone _smarter_ than you, tell me it aint so!" Tony glared over at him halfheartedly.

"Not _smarter_, per-say... just... different view on things, experienced in different subjects which I haven't had much of a chance to look into." Natasha looked suspicious and Bruce curious.

"Would I know these friends?" Tony smiled secretively.

"No. None of you would... what? I did have a life before you guys showed up, you know." For some reason, that made the mans smile widen. A spark of irritation lit itself up in the pit of Steves stomach, but he stamped it down... he had to admit, he was a little curious too... Natasha stared at Tony.

Bruce frowned. "Well, can you get in contact with them?" Tony nodded slowly.

"Might take a little while, but shouldn't be a problem." Natasha's eyes narrowed, but with a hint of a smile.

"Shield should be able to have them in contact within minutes if we send in a request. Just name them, I'll get it done." Tony laughed.

"Oh, trust me. Shield can't help you here... My buddy isn't on Fury's contact list." Natasha smiled.

"Oh, I think you'd be surprised. So, name." Tony raised an eyebrow and his smile grew amused.

"I'd like this to stay between the team for now. Meaning out of Shield." Natasha's eyes widened in interest.

"...Fine by me." Caramel eyes shifted over to Clint.

"And you, Elf?" Clint rolled his eyes.

"Lord of the Rings references are starting to get a little repetitive. Step up your game, you under-gown auto-bot." Tony smirked. Ok, and Steve was now completely lost.

"Well, if you'd had more personality than your bow, it wouldn't be so hard to come up with anything." Clint chuckled, "And your one to talk... Transformers, really?"

"When the pot calls a kettle black..."

"Guys!" Bruce's normally timid voice roared though the room, every eye cautious as shot over to the man as the room grew suddenly quiet. His voice went back to a more moderate volume. "It's late, some of us are tired" his eyes shot to Tony. "Lets get on with this some time tonight, yeah?" His eyes were back to staring at Clint, who just rolled his eyes again.

"Fine, Fine. Secret trust circle activated, I got it. But if we're getting any help taking this chick down, we're going to a name." Tony grinned innocently.

"T'Challa." Natasha blinked. Twice.

"... and where would this man likely be located?" Tony bared his teeth in what could have been a smile.

"Wakanda." Bruce started choking on air and Clint's chair felt over backwards, the archer sprawling on the floor giving the dark man a wide-eyed stare. Even Natasha's eyes widened, shock passing through the green eyes. Thor and Steve shared a confused look. Tony smiled sweetly at them. Clint was the first to recover.

"You're shitting us, right?"

"Told you Shield couldn't help you." Bruce shook his head in a daze. Steve blinked. The name had sounded familiar... nothing came to mind, though. Natasha's eyes narrowed again.

"You're telling me that you have contacts in Wakanda..." Tony frowned.

"No. I'm telling you I have contact _with_ Wakanda, what I _have_ there are a few friends." Natasha ignored his interruption.

"And Shield doesn't know." Tony shrugged.

"They might. Doubtful, but you never know. At any rate, I'd prefer that, if they don't, it stays that way. The last thing I want is to become some sort of messenger boy between Fury and T'Challa." Clint started laughing.

"Holy crap... when Fury finds out, he's going to have a fucking metal breakdown, you know that, right?" Steves eyes widened. This didn't sound good...

Tony rolled his eyes. "Yeah, way to make me question why I'm keeping this a secret, asshole." Bruce sighed, and finally started breathing again.

"So... How long?" Tony raise an eyebrow at him.

"For as long as possible." Bruce shook his head.

"No, I get that we're keeping it between us. I meant who long have you been talking to them."

"Ah." Tony's eyes shot to Steve for half a second before shifting away just as fast back to Bruce, so quickly he might have been convinced he'd just imagined it... if Bruce's eyes hadn't moved to him as well, and if he weren't pinning him where he sat with a confused look. "As far back as I can remember. Stark is a name they've known since the 40's." Natasha blinked again.

"..And you never mentioned this, _why_?" Tony shrugged again.

"It's just... always been this way. Not a big deal." He laughed. "Actually, I'm pretty sure even Howard didn't know I was talking to them." Steve frowned.

"I though you said since the 40's... that was your dads time." _And mine_, " that should mean he would know." Tony looked uncomfortable.

"There were other Starks', you know. Not many, but _Howard_ never talked to Wakanda in my knowledge... which. Thanks to a few old friends, runs pretty deep." Steve started to ask more, but one look at Tony convinced him to just let him go. He might snap at the guy, but he looked pretty uncomfortable, backed into a corner he was having trouble getting out of... probably something about Howard. Steve wasn't cruel, even if his judgment had been lacking of late. So he just let it go with a small nod. Tony instantly relaxed. Steve did too, to his own surprise.

Clint glanced between them. "So... we handle Fury, you try to call up your magical African buddy?" Tony glanced over at him.

"Yeah. Fury asks where I am, tell him he doesn't own me. At least then he'll just be pissed at me, not you guys for not forcing me to come." Steve frowned. He hadn't thought of that... still, it was Tony Stark-ish enough to attract all of Fury's irritation. A hot rage filled his gut at that... thankfully, this time, it wasn't directed at anyone in the room and he was able to ignore it with relative ease.

He shook his head and looked around. The others were on their way out of the room, probably headed for Shield head-quarters and Tony was staring at him with concern. Steve shook his head at the man, then sprinted to catch up with the rest of his team. He could feel the other mans eyes following him as he left and he had to shrug uncomfortably. None of the others gave any sign of noticing.

He knew he should be more concerned about this new enemy that Thor was worried about, but he couldn't seem to force himself to be... She would probably end up being an annoyance, of course, but it was just that... weeks after they faced down a demigod and an alien army, it wasn't like she was terrifying after something like that.

And he was tired... it was odd, back during the war, he was always tired, always running on few hours of sleep... others, he could remember, were often running on much less than he was, so he never felt he had any right to complain... but he had never really felt it like this. His mind was blurred and lethargic, annoyingly so. It made it difficult to be worried about much. He supposed that was a good thing, in some cases... the less worried you were, the less likely you'd panic about it. Panic was not something they needed when their was an enemy to be fought. It had never been a problem for Steve before, and it wasn't about to start being one if he had his way.

Still, it was something he'd rather not have to deal with. Carelessness such as this could get someone- most likely him- hurt or even killed.

But he wasn't in any position to deal with it at the moment... there were more important things he had to do, and he just hoped he'd get a chance to before anything serious happened.

The others didn't seem too worried about his current state of mind, so he had to assume that it wasn't obvious. Another good thing... the minute it started looking like he was out of it was when he should really start to worry about it. But... Tony had seemed to notice. He shrugged that off. The Starks had always been observant, it wasn't so odd that this one had noticed something off. It made him feel oddly warm to know someone could see, none the less.

When they got to the Shied building, they unsurprisingly had to wait almost two hours for Fury to get there from the Heli-carrier. They could have just contacted him through video-conference, but the that suggestion seemed to make Thor a bit uncomfortable. Truthfully, it made him feel a bit out-of-place as well, so he was just as glad to sit in their designated conference room instead.

Actually, he was more glad that it gave him the opportunity to take a quick nap while they waited, even if he'd had to do so sitting in a very uncomfortable chair. They were probably so uncomfortable to discourage napping, but he was a soldier... he could sleep just about anywhere, and had, more times than he cared to count.

He startled awake to the sound of Thor's booming laugh, his mind much clearer than it had felt for the past two days. It was a relief... but he felt silly for worrying about it as much as he had. If one thing was certain, it was in any sort of military, you'd always have to wait. And every good soldier knew, when the chance arose to get some sleep, you took it.

He glanced around... Clint seemed to have had the same idea he had, though he'd not bothered with a chair, instead favoring the support beam above them... Steve wasn't sure it would be much more comfortable, but to each his own. With luck, Clint wouldn't wake up sore and stiff, like he had. Still, it was better than nothing.

Fury wasn't amused to find Clint fast asleep, that much was obvious by the way he just glared at the man until Natasha threw something at him to get him up. But he didn't say a word as the archer groaned and rolled off of the ledge, somehow managing to wake up in mid-air enough to land on the balls of his feet, glaring at Natasha, then giving Fury a completely innocent look. As soon as Fury rolled his eye and turned away from them, Clint was rubbing the sleep from his eyes while trying to make faces at the mans back. At least he hadn't been the only one a little low on sleep.

As expected, Fury was not at all pleased with the news.

He took it better than Steve had expected, with just a sigh and a nod, as if he'd expected it, but he still looked angry. Steve wasn't really sure if Nick Fury ever _didn't_ look angry, so that wasn't really too much of an issue.

His plan didn't turn out to be what Steve had hoped for... He decided to wait to see if she was a threat, something about a council being on his ass already, and not to make any rash decisions. Logically, Steve could see that it was a good idea to wait. But his instinct told him that they needed to get this taken care of before something like New York happened again. Again, he knew that that had been an extreme case that was very unlikely to repeat itself... But he couldn't be sure. Maybe the fight had effected him more than he'd thought.

Clint and Thor both immediately disagreed with the director, with wasn't all that surprising. Clint was always up for a fight and Thor was a warrior at heart, a man of action. After a moment, Steve sided with Fury. It would be stupid to get into a fight they could have avoided, just because they had jumped the gun. Actually, it would be worse than stupid: it would be neglectful and selfish.

There had been times, when he disagreed with his orders, that he would fight them. But this time, as much as he disliked it, they were the right ones. He just hoped they'd be able to convince the others.

Maybe... maybe they could at least locate her, and keep one eye on her instead of just sitting back and letting her run wild. That wouldn't be _completely_ disobeying Fury's orders, and it should make the others at least content. Besides, it would keep probably be enough to distract Tony from going after her on his own.

Hopefully it would... Because if he did go after her on his own, Steve knew- as much as he disliked it- he'd probably be right behind him with Clint and Thor on his heels.

* * *

**Alright, another chapter out, cool. And I did managed to do a full Steve PoV chapter this time, alright! Which means next chapter will probably be (mostly) Tony's. Probably full, but no promises. Alright, hope you guys enjoyed.**


	6. Waiting

**New chapter, alright. Hoping to manage a full Tony pov this time, but we'll see. Thank you to everyone who read... and especially to those who reviewed... the last chapter. Always a good to wake up in the morning with an inbox full of new emails from you guys. **

** "**_Crimson eyes, this insomniac tries to make shapes from the formless" _Tickle Me Pink~Tomorrow's Ending.

* * *

Even Tony Stark couldn't magically get the reclusive King of Wakanda to appear on his video chat right away, he'd known this when he'd elected to stay behind when the others left. Honestly, he'd just used it as an excuse to not have to deal with Fury. The man didn't like him, and surprise, surprise, he didn't care for the director of Shield either.

He felt a little guilty about the others having to go deal with the man, but it wasn't like they could... or rather, _should_... keep Shield in the dark. As annoying as the agents could be, they were also more useful than he'd care to admit out loud.

And really, it hadn't been a complete lie... T'Challa probably would be able to come up with something that would help them. It would probably even be useful. That was his "Not part of the lie" part. That one was simply a "I could probably talk to him within a few hours." If he really,_really_ needed to, sure. For something that wasn't urgent, he was left waiting on the King. He didn't mind. It very commonly ran both ways... they were both busy men, and it was like an unending game of phone tag running between the two of them. The others didn't need to know that, though.

Instead, he sent a message to his friend, waited about five minutes for a return message the didn't come. Then, he was off to his lab for the few hours the others would surely be gone, and allowed himself to get lost in one of his side-projects. It wasn't complex or even mechanical... in fact, he should probably drag Bruce in on it at some point. It was just field medical equipment he'd been working on and off on for the past two months or so, nothing special, but likely to save thousands of lives. Didn't make it feel any more phenomenal than say... a new auto-targeting micro-missile or any other clever little weapon he happened to be working with. It should have felt different... should have felt more noble.

Still, like anything worthwhile he'd ever done, it was easy to get lost in... which really just meant it was easy for him to lose sense of time. And of his surroundings. It wasn't a good habit, but it did help in specific situations, such as when he'd been stuck in that cave... now, not so much. He didn't know how long he'd been working, or how long the rest of his team stood in his workshop, chatting quietly amongst themselves or just watched him work before he finally realized that other people existed. It was always an uncomfortable moment realize people were watching him while he worked.

Without looking away from his work, he raised an eyebrow at no one in particular. "Help you?"

Almost everyone in the room jumped, save Natasha. She rolled her eyes in his direction. "Finally. We couldn't get your attention, and Bruce convinced us it wasn't the best idea to sneak up on you while you were lost like that." Oh, Bruce. There was a reason they were Science Bros... and why he went to him when he was having troubles. He just nodded to her to go on. " Fury decided to wait it out, and make an informed decision when he have more reason to." He glared. Seriously? A demigod, one Thor was sure was here to cause trouble... and he wanted to just wait for her to do something. Unbelievable. "I know. We're all pretty pissed about it too. Hopefully you've had some luck?"

He sighed and finally looked away from his work. Pity, it was almost ready to test. Later, he promised himself.

"Unfortunately, T'Challa is a busy guy. I let him know I needed his input on something... he'll get back to me when he has a chance." He sighed. "Besides, if we aren't supposed to make a move until she makes hers, whats the point? We have no data to work with, therefore we can't even hypothesize." Thor's face fell, and Clint nodded sadly.

Steve gave him an odd look, halfway between shame and mischief. "He says that we can't make a move against her... never said anything about finding and keeping an eye on her, though." Tony blinked once, then grinned widely. That, he could deal with better than "sit on your ass while people die." It was actually such a Steve thing to do, really... but that didn't mean he couldn't tease the man about it.

"What, you're actually defying your orders, Soldier? Not going to go ask Nicky if it's ok first?"

Steve rolled his eyes and managed to keep his tone level. "I'm not just some grunt, hoping whenever my superior tells me to, you know."

Tony snorted. "I know. You're the type who will receive direct orders, ignore them to do whatever the fuck you were going to do anyway. Then, when it's all over, turn yourself over for disciplinary action."

Steve's eyes narrowed and Tony's mind scrambled. Fuck, too specific. "...Howard might have said some things." Damn, nice save. "Who's up for fondue tonight?" Steve paled, then flushed deep red before bolting with Tony watching him leave, a smirk covering the relief that washed through him. Close...too close. He really should try to be more careful. Damn, he hated censoring himself.

The others were giving him a curious looks, now, though.

Bruce around and sighed. "I'm going to bed... try not to disturb me unless there's an attack or something... and no, Tony, 'Something' does not mean anything if it starts with the words, 'I have a great idea.' then all but sprinted from the room before anyone could come up with anything to say.

Clint watched the other man leave, his eyes still curious before looking back at Tony, expecting some kind of explanation... after several short seconds passed, he gave up trying to get answers with a look and finally asked, "Fondue?"

Tony chuckled lightly. "Long story. Have him tell you, not really my place to talk about it, I guess."

Natasha rolled her eyes again, a light smile on her lips. "And yet, it's perfectly fine to tease him about it?" He gave her a look that clearly read "Obviously." She shrugged it off. Thor looked mildly confused.

"I do not understand, friends... what is this fondue you speak of?" Clint rolled his eyes with a slight smile marring his tired features.

"It's just when you dip stuff into hot melted cheese before you eat it."

Thor nodded slightly, but didn't look any less confused. "... and we shall be trying this Midgardian delicacy this evening?" Tony winced. He actually had never been too fond of the stuff himself... too time consuming. But, if he'd brought it up then refused, that would look even odder than it already did to the team.

"Sure. I'll arrange something, big guy." The gods face lit up again, thrilled to just be trying new foods. Hopefully he didn't take to them like he had pop-tarts... there had only been one experience, up on the Heli-carrier, but it was enough for Tony to know that if he had any in his house, none would survive long. Thor seemed like a damn blood-hound when it came to the pastries. It was just as disturbing to watch as it was fascinating, of course, but not something Tony was looking forward to getting used to in living with the guy.

He glanced around the crowded room... well, it really wasn't crowded, to be fair. There was a crazy amount of open space in his shops, giving the random vehicles he sometimes decided to make, but still. It was _his_ space, and he didn't like giving up an inch to just anybody. Everybody who remained in the lab: not on the "Oh well, I don;t mind them" list. Especially not together... this way, they were more likely to fall under the "Holy shit, don't let them touch too much, they might injure themselves or whatever they find" list. Maybe his problem was he had too many lists... he should just condense it down to a "sure" and a "No way in hell." that idea would most likely just end up on the second list, but it was still a thought.

He snapped himself out of that train of thought and cleared his throat, bringing the attention of the remaining Avengers back to him from where they had drifted. "So, is there anything else, or..." Clint glanced around and opened his mouth to say something, but Natasha cut him off with a humored snort of what could have been laughter... murderous Russian laughter.

"Don't bother answering, Clint. He's kicking us out of his shop. More politely than is his usual style, so we should probably re-enforce the behavior by giving him what he wants." Tony glared at her, but didn't (Surprise surprise) start an argument about it. Too much on his mind for any of that nonsense now.

She turned back to Tony, waiting a few seconds for him to argue, but then continued. " And no more skipping out on meetings. You might be a pain in the ass, but your usually an insightful pain in the ass, and as much as Fury hates it, he relies on it." He wasn't the only one that looked confused by the second bit as she herded the boys out of the room. Again, he shrugged it off. Well, she'd caught him fair and square on that count... at least he shouldn't have to worry about Steve saying anything about it to him now. He was sure she'd tell him it was taken care of if the other man had even noticed.

Well, he hoped for that, at least. He really didn't to have to deal with a Cap lecture... that would probably end with him having to control his temper at the man when every instinct he had told him to run wild and fight back. It was maddening when he couldn't let himself. But this was one of those times he was willing to suck it up and deal with it... it would be worth it.

He shoved that out of his mind and turned his attention back to his work-bench, and tried again to lose himself in his work... after twenty minutes he gave up trying to get any work done on it. Instead he just stood there, glaring at the offending material. He couldn't figure out why he couldn't get any work done... it was a simple thing, nothing was distracting him, he wasn't really tired... he just couldn't do it.

_Ok,"_ he thought to himself. _"New project time."_

He considered starting to try to trace the Enchantress, but dismissed the idea... without anything or anywhere to start from, it would just be a complete waste of time that could better be used on something that would help them once they actually found her... if she proved hostile. Not that there was any question in his mind which way that little meeting would go.

_ "_ upgrading his armor was always one of the simplest things to get lost in, he might as well start there. Just as always, it came as easily to him as breathing, creating a new suit... maybe that wasn't the best thing. Then again, he did have a team of heroes living with him, counting on him... it was better to be prepared and up to his neck in the armor than to not be prepared for something.

Besides., he hadn't gotten a chance to mess around with any new specs since the invasion in New York, and his other suits were pretty torn up... yeah. Working on a new suit was definitely a good thing for him.

He wordlessly had Jarvis pull up a new project folder and started from scratch.

He worked for hours, so lost that he jumped about a foot in the air when an alarm went off, informing him he was being called. He glared at the huge projection screen momentarily before having J put the call through, only remembering who it likely was and getting excited as the screen flashed a familiar face at him. Not the one he was expecting, of course, nor the one he even remotely wanted to see.

"The hell do you want, Fury?" the one-eyed man on the screen raised one eyebrow... or, hell, maybe he raised them both, and that patch just didn't feel like moving, he couldn't tell. And oddly enough, he was curious. Not enough to explain his question if he were to ask, but enough so that he had to wonder why the hell he cared.

"You weren't in the meeting yesterday."

"And you just _now_ noticed? Nick, honey... for a spy, you sure as hell aren't as observant as you should be.

The other man rolled his eyes before letting them narrow into a glare. "Oh, I noticed, Stark. I just couldn't deal with you at an earlier time, so don't press me. You're already on thin ice, here."

"Oh? Thin ice, how, are you going to cut my pay?" He snorted. "Ohhh, or are you going to kick me out of your boyband? Would that make me some kind of groupie, seeing how the talent lives with me?" the director smiled softly.

"No, of course not. But I do just so happen to have the power to put you on clean-up duty after the next fight." Tony paused.

"...You so do not." Fury's smile never faltered.

"Try me." He wasn't sure what to do, here... because, really... he couldn't do that... right? Right. He was Tony Stark, it wasn't like he worked for Fury...

Except he kind of did... and Fury wasn't really the kind of guy you said no to, not with the Black Widow and Hawkeye at the mans back, not to mention who knows who else Fury had sunk is talons into. He might be Tony Stark, but that really only meant one thing, at the core of it: He wasn't stupid.

He finally settled on rolling his eyes back at the screen before turning away from it so he wouldn't have to stare at the blown up face on the screen.

"Ok, honey. Point taken. Can we just kiss and make up, now? You know I hate it when we fight." He heard Fury sigh, and he smirked. At least being Tony Stark also meant he was expected to be an obnoxious son of a bitch... well, in some cases it was good.

"I'm not in the god-damn mood for your bullshit right now, Stark. I just need to be sure that you understand your orders as well as the others who were actually here to do their jobs were, since you're too busy to bother." Tony winced. Oh, yes. The orders... those stupid fucking orders that made less sense than why anyone from Asgard would want to invade earth in the first place.

He spun back to glare at the screen. "Oh, yeah. I was informed of your plans. I do happen to have a quick question about that, as it just so happens."

Fury's eye grew wider, and a mocking look melted through his formerly cool expression. "Oh? Something you don't already have the answer to? But... you're Tony Stark. I didn't think it was possible for you to actually have a _question._" Tony forced himself to look solemn. Thor would be proud... or maybe Hawkeye. It was hard to decide.

"As a matter of fact, I do... there are some things I will never understand, and maybe you can help me, at any rate. My question is very important to the good of the group and the world... are you fucking brain-dead, or something?" Fury's face fell back into a glare.

"I should have known which side of this decision you'd stand on... what, do you think that's really what _I _decided? Shit, of course the right fucking thing to do would be to go after her, any other option after last time shouldn't be considered... but this isn't my choice, Stark. You might have to follow my orders, but I have to follow the councils... and because I disobeyed a direct order the last week, I'm not in a good position to ignore any more, no matter how stupid they might be." the man shook his head. Tony's eyes narrowed in thought.

"Ok, so, what? You want to me "Ignore orders" or something." A grin broke out, but Fury sighed again.

"Hell no. you are to do as you're told, for the time. Is that understood?" Tony's brows drew together again.

"Ok, then what was the point of explaining... wait, do the others know that?" Fury shook his head.

"Unfortunately, you're really the only one who would understand why exactly we have to stand down... you're a business man, you know sometimes you just cant run wild. Which is why you need to convince the others not to do anything reckless."

"Wait... you want _me_ to argue your kind-of point for you?"

"At the very least, I'm going to need you on my side, here. If I'm out, you guys won't last long in the councils hands. You know that they were against you from the start. Most of your team will probably be hunted again if that happens." Tony paused. That was true... Bruce would be in the run again, if Thor stuck around, he'd be a major target of these assholes, too... as for the other three, technically they were all but "owned" by Shield... which meant they'd be gone from his life, probably forever. Never see Steve again. And as for himself...well, who knew?.. nothing good would come from it. He finally nodded.

"Fine. None of us will go after her until we know." Not physically, at least... Nick had never mentioned anything about tracking. Hopefully, Fury knew he'd left that loophole and could talk his way out if it if necessary. As much as he disliked the guy, he was right... but at the same time, this was too important for fears to get in the way.

Fury shook his head again. "you are _all _to be here for another meeting in three hours, Stark. Clear?"

He nodded to the screen as it turned blank, his attention deep in the back of his mind.

Half of him really just wanted to tell Fury about the plan they'd half-come up with, just to keep him in the loop now, since the other obviously decided to keep him in... but no. then he wouldn't be able to tell the council Tony had acted by himself in this. He was in a better place to take their anger than the Director and to an extent, his team.

Some days. He hated being Tony Stark.

* * *

** Sorry, this is up much later in the day than my past two, I started this chapter off in a great mood, loving writing it, then halfway through, I just... stopped all that. And couldn't convince myself to write for most of the week, so now it's Friday evening, I have less than 2k words written, and am just rushing to get this done by deadline... hope you guys enjoy.**


	7. Some Say

**Alright... lets hope that this chapter is easier. Ones like the last one are always difficult... this one had a later start than I'd like as well, but I am the one to blame for that. Hell, at least it wasn't the day it came out...Enjoy all. **

** Also, split PoV again this chapter. Just a heads-up. **

_"If the eyes are the windows to the soul, her soul's somewhere in Mexico." _I'm in love with a Sociopath~ I Hate Kate.

* * *

The others resigned themselves to going back to Shield easily enough, but the frustrated sighs echoed around the room regardless when Tony explained. He didn't blame them. He didn't tell them about what had been said between him and Nick... the other man had been right, sadly. They wouldn't understand certain things, and while he didn't agree that absolutely nothing was the right thing to do, it was all that Nick was allowed to _know_ about. He doubted that had been what Nick had been trying to get across when he came to him, but he should have expected it... hell, he had come to Tony Stark, after all. His own fault, now. Not that he'd see it that way.

He had made his choice. It would have been nice if there had been a better option, or if someone else had had to make it, but it was his, and it would do. He just had to make sure it didn't backfire... sure, Nick wasn't his favorite person, but he preferred having the man there as a buffer between his team and those idiots on the council. At least this way, he only had to deal with one semi-reasonable person.

Besides, the others had come up with the same idea without him before... not that they understood the full scope of their actions, but it was obviously what they felt to be right too. He still had to put this on repeat in his mind in order not to feel guilty whenever he glanced at Steve, though. They knew what they were doing. The ride back to Shield was eerily quiet. Other than Clint making irritated cracks about how if Tony had just gone with them in the first place, they wouldn't have had to go back and forth so much. They all knew why he hadn't had been more important... ish. They had all agreed, so a few sharp glances from Natasha shut the archer up quickly enough.

Bruce kept glancing at him, worry tinting his eyes. He had been being quiet... maybe too quiet. He shrugged. Only time he never shut up was when he had something to say... now was not the time to be running his mouth. Who knew what might slip out. He still had to find some way to explain everything to Bruce, though... if anyone could help him figure it out and get things back to how they should be, it was Bruce. Well, Bruce or Steve, and since Bruce was more understanding about the whole science part of this circumstance, it was better to bring him in on it first. Figuring out how without sounding like a maniac, though... that would take some time to work on. Not everyone was as willing to just accept this kind of thing like Wakanda was.

He really did need to speak with T'Challa... hopefully he wouldn't try to contact him until they got back from the Shield headquarters... phone tag had its time and place, this was not it. He frowned. If Fury made him miss a call from the Panther, he'd be pretty pissed. And unable to show why to the director. That wasn't in his nature, so he really hoped it didn't come down to that. It would just serve to make Nick suspicious in the end. Or else he'd have to come up with an excuse as to why he was angry... that would probably work out a little better, in the long run.

When had life gotten so complicated? He had to wonder... a week ago, sure they had been beating down aliens, and the world was going crazy around them, but he had never resorted to being forced to watch what he was saying so closely. That came harder to him than sacrificing himself, or killing his enemies. Maybe that should worry him. Then again, he was a super-hero, it was a good thing that those things didn't give him pause. Besides, having no brain to mouth filter had been a problem of his for as far back as he cared to think, so it wasn't like he hadn't gotten used to it long ago.

They made their way into the building just as silently, ignoring the slightly startled faces of the agents guarding the entrance as they came through a second time that day. Maybe they thought this was just as silly and pointless as his team did... who knew. Then again, maybe it was the masks of irritation that just about every one of the group were wearing.

Before they got to the conference room, Steve fell behind, and caught Tony's arm subtly, pulling both of them to a discrete halt. He lifted an eyebrow expectantly towards the man.

"Stark, I'm going to ask you to be respectful, here."

"I will politely decline." Steve gave him a long-suffering look as they stood in the hallway. Tony glared back defiantly, but with none of the heat that had only a few short weeks ago all but burnt the air between them. Steve, by now, had hopefully gotten used to Tony _not_ meaning anything by it, and finally sighed before turning to go into the room with only a slight shake of his head.

Tony smirked at his retreating back. _"I win."_ Even so, he did watch what he said throughout the meeting. For Steve's sake. At least the man had the good sense to send him a few appreciative looks and half hidden smiles every time something came up that practically begged for him to mock, but were left un-touched.

It was difficult to let some of them go, especially with Clint's eager eyes shooting towards him to say what obviously needed saying, but each of Steve's smiles made it worth it... the man didn't smile nearly enough. Oh, the stupid things people did for love...even the presently one-sided love.

"_We'll see how long that lasts."_

Not that there was much going on in the meeting, really. Just going over... again... what they already knew. It was painfully clear that the others were just as pissed about it, even if they didn't say a word. That would just result in getting them stuck their longer. Shit, it was like being stuck in the principles office in high-school all over again, only this time he couldn't use "I'm 14, I didn't know any better" as an excuse.

Fury kept sending expectant glances his way, and progressively got more and more irritated when Tony just remained silent. As amusing as it was, he finally remembered that the man expected him to have his back in convincing the others... as if he needed to have a damn meeting to talk about it with people he fucking lived with... well, he might as well throw a little bit of Stark flair into it if he was going to be forced to do this...

"Alright, Nick, I think we all understand and agree, ok. Keeping us locked up here won't help, and it's pretty obvious that this is the only course of action. Seriously, we aren't morons. We'd have to be idiots to _actually_ go after her or something. Does this have any point other than to point out the obvious?" There, good enough. Fury was glaring half heatedly at him, but was covering the edge of a smile that Tony was sure that he was probably the only one that was able to pick it out... well, Clint and Natasha probably could too, if they weren't giving him the most confused looks he'd ever seen on either face.

For that matter, so were the others. Bruce's eyes shone with understanding through it, but Steve looked almost concerned. Thor looked confused, but then, that was normal enough. He'd have to explain it to them later... not in full, of course, just enough to allow them to understand the basics of it. They'd probably be pissed he didn't tell them before hand, but they'd just have to get over that. He did have other things on his mind, after all.

Finally, Fury smirked.

"Actually, there is one last thing. I would have done this earlier, but it does require all of you, unfortunately." with that, he nodded up to a "hidden' camera up in the corner of the room, and the door opened.

A figure stepped into the room and cleared their throat. They all stopped and turned. And stared, wide eyed. Even Tony was completely at loss for words.

Coulson smirked. "Oh, snap out of it, the lot of you... You're acting like you've seen a ghost." He had never been one to be struck speechless for long, however.

"Or, you know, a zombie. Or liar. Liar works too." Tony glared over at Fury, who glanced away.

Coulson nodded. "Ah, yes... I have been informed about that... incident, unfortunately. And while I can;t agree with the method used, I understand the Director had his reasons."

Steve glared. "And that's just supposed to make it ok that he manipulated us!?" Both Fury and Coulson winced, the later looking slightly frantic as he looked over the insulted super-soldier. Tony almost glared possessively at that, but managed to catch himself. He wished he didn't have to... but wishing never got anything done. Soon.

"No, of course not... but it did work... in the future, I'm sure he'll not use such... unethical methods." Steve's glare didn't waver as it shifted away from the injured man over to Fury.

"See that you don't. I'll not have you using my team like that." Nick's mouth tightened, but he nodded to the Captain before turning back to Tony.

"Stark, Coulson will be staying with you and the team in your building, just in case." It was Tony's turn to glare.

"Oh? And it doesn't both you, naturally, that you didn't bother getting my permission first, right?"

"None what-so-ever."

"In that case, your plan is stupid." Fury smirked.

"I suggest you get him settled quickly. With another Asgardian on Earth, after all, who knows how long you'll have to prepare for her first move." Tony caught Steve's eye and he nodded to him. Well, at least their irritation at the situation was a good bonding method for them... and at least he wasn't the only one pissed off about this... actually, that had probably been Fury's plan. Get them distracted. Ha, too bad he didn't know who he was dealing with well enough to come up with a proper distraction... sure, Coulson living with them would definitely make their plan harder, but with Jarvis and the two Shield-trained agents on their side, they'd manage.

Tony would have to keep Coulson off of Steve though... the man seemed to make the soldier a bit uncomfortable... not that anyone who looked at him with such hero-worship in their eyes didn't bother him... not to mention he'd probably tear the mans throat out himself of he got all clingy on his Steve. Or, you know. Try to. Because, apparently, not a damn thing could kill that man.

Really, Tony was happy to see the man alive. They were... friends, after a fashion. Hell, he didn't even mind that the man was being forced on him, not really. He still could have picked a better damn time... or, better, Fury could not have lied in the first place, and none of this would be a problem in the slightest. Fury was just great at pissing off people today, it would seem. Still better than the counsel, but by how much was getting to be a little hard to tell, the way he'd been behaving lately.

Coulson moved to stand by Steve, and Tony lept from his seat to catch the man by the arm before he'd made it a full step.

"Alright, find. If there's no choice, you're riding with me. Fill me in, ok. Lots to talk about..." He trailed off as he led the slightly disappointed man from the room with a glance back to the rest of them. Steve gave a light, confused but grateful smile before he disappeared from the room. "First, lets grab your stuff. You do have stuff, right?" The man nodded, "Good, then it's bound to be around here somewhere."

* * *

**S**

Steve felt bad about being so uncomfortable around Agent Coulson... he was such a good man, a man in most circumstances he would have gotten along with great, he was sure. It was just in the way the man watched him, eyes tracing his every move as if he were somehow saving the world simply by being there, by breathing. It made him uncomfortable. Sure, as soon as the man had "died," he had signed the cards, he had made time to mourn him, despite not having known him long. He must have been an impressive man, after all, seeing as Tony had actually been affected when Loki had stabbed him... he felt it took a lot to get to that man.

Well, he had thought so... now he wasn't so sure. It was obvious that he had misjudged the man in their first meeting, especially if now, Tony had somehow read enough from his body language to drag him away. And Steve felt really_ bad_ about that... but he just wasn't sure if he could handle those looks after everything Fury was pulling. He'd have to thank Tony later... or try to. Who knew how that would turn out... And of course he'd have to spend more time with Coulson later on, get to know the man... once he was in a more placid mood. Until them, he was just grateful Tony understood.

That was a bit of a shock, really... Stark being able to read him like that. It was incredibly nice, and it made him feel warm and comfortable for some reason, but it was still a shock.

The others seemingly hadn't noticed anything through their shock at seeing the Agent alive, then having him whisked off by Stark before they could so much as speak with him... they'd probably chew the other man out for that one back home, but Steve would have his back... maybe he could even convince them to go easy on him, preferably before the other two got back.

He wasn't sure if he felt bad about Tony being stuck with him, though. The two had seemed to get along well enough, before. And he trusted the man to be able to handle the Agent... odd, trusting someone he'd only just met... then again, he knew he could trust all of his team. This just felt... different, somehow.

He wished he had more energy to feel bad about it all, really. At least that way, he could get over his discomfort more quickly... instead, anger burned away most of the energy he had remaining. What Fury had done was cruel, not only to him, but most especially to Tony. Sure, he didn't exactly get along with the other man easily, but if this was the kind of thing that people were pulling on him all his life, maybe he had every right to be how he was... Steve would probably be much worse in a similar situation. Less forgiving, less in control. If there was one thing he was willing to give Stark, it was that: The man was in control of any situation he was forced into. And right now was a time Steve was really thankful for that... even if it did make him nearly impossible to control.

_"Is he really something you want to control?"_ he couldn't help the voice in the back of his mind that asked that. Surprisingly, the answer to that jumped up immediately, thoughtlessly. No. He didn't. It would be stupid to try, and pointless to want to, as much as trying to control a force of nature, or the Hulk, would be. It was what made him so effective as a fighter, what made him work so well with the team. It made no sense, but when it came down to it, it worked itself out.

The really odd part was that Steve didn't mind. He was the one who should be in control, he was the leader, was responsible for his team, no matter what... but he didn't mind. It wasn't something he consciously decided, it just _was._ He'd probably end up getting them both killed if he tried.

Clint glanced over to Natasha still staring after the two, both wide-eyed. "Did that seriously just happen..?" She nodded numbly. Steve couldn't blame her... the two had known Coulson for much longer than he had, longer than he expected Tony had either. The shock was probably greatest for them... At least Clint, Thor and Bruce hadn't been manipulated into fighting like the others had been. That would only serve to make him angrier... probably make Banner angry too, and as much as he liked the man, that just about the last thing they needed right now.

Bruce looked between them all and sighed. "Tony isn't coming back with us, is he?" Steve shrugged, holding back a faint smile. The other man nodded with a roll of his eyes. "Alright, lets head back, then. Hopefully Tony hasn't gotten any calls while we were away." It took Steve a second to figure out what he meant... then he shrugged again. He really didn't get what the huge deal was with this person... so, he was smart. Being stuck in the same house as Tony and Bruce had kind of worn the novelty of that off, not to mention the time he had spent with Howard back in the war. He frowned. Thinking back to those times never helped his mood... he'd lost so much, too much.

On the way home, the others tried to initiate conversation with one another... him too, probably., though he was too distracted to acknowledge it. It never got past the first few words, everyone seeming to lose interest before all the words left their mouths.

When they got back to the Tower, it was quiet. That wasn't really abnormal, but it was a relief. It meant that Tony... and Coulson... weren't back yet. Which would be improbable, of course, but of course it still made him relax a little. Clint and Natasha both looked disappointed when they realized that. Bruce didn't seem to notice his teams distraction, and Thor had opted to fly home instead of being stuck in a small car with four other people. Steve was sure that the others were just as thankful for that as he was... as it was, with him, it was already a little lacking for space.

All Steve wanted to do was sprint to his room and hide out for the rest of the night, maybe draw or read... but he knew better than to expect that. The first thing he did was spring down to Tony's lab with Bruce. With a little bit of convincing, Jarvis slid the re-enforced doors open for them. Two of the three strange robots Tony had rolling around came up to Steve and started prodding... the arms were surprisingly stronger than he'd expected. Bruce didn't so much as pause at the sight of them.

The machine stared at him, flexing its claw. It fascinated Steve at the same it unnerved him. They were impressive, and it didn't really surprise him that they were wandering around Tony's lab... well, not that surprising. But he also had the feeling that they could probably crush even his enhanced bones.

Bruce walked past them without pause and collapsed onto the couch set in the corner of the massively open room. He looked back at Steve and laughed.

"Dummy, Butterfingers, back off, it looks like you want to eat the Captain whole." One of the things turned and made a light whirring noise in the scientists direction before wheeling off. The other continued to stare at him "Dummy, keep it up, you know Tony will be upset." It's claw lowered slightly and it rolled away too, much more slowly than the other had.

Steve didn't move for a few more seconds, staring after them curiously before he joined Bruce on the couch. They glanced at one another.

"So... odd names?" Bruce snorted a laugh.

"Yeah... Tony insists that they aren't very advanced, but he can't bring himself to get rid of them. Apparently he made them in his teens." Steve's eyes widened. Of course he did.

"Doesn't seem very nice to name them things like 'Dummy.'" Bruce shrugged.

"It's Tony. It's meant to be endearing... It's just the only way he knows how to show people he cares." Steve frowned. That was... odd. Bruce gave him a meaningful look. "So, you know. You shouldn't judge him. He's used to being snapped at, of course, so don't feel too bad about that. Just realize he doesn't mean any harm." Steve leaned back into the couch and thought.

* * *

**Since by now it's practically cannon that Coulson survived(At least here and on the web, because of the new Shield show), I kind of had to bring him back. Figured sooner would be easier than later. **

** Not my greatest ending, but busy week. Hope you guys enjoy. **


	8. Distraction

**Thank you to everyone reading and enjoying the story, hopefully you enjoy this chapter as well. The song and band I picked this chapter is odd for my musical taste, but they aren't one that I can dislike.**

** I have to wonder, just how much of my sarcasm is picked up on in writing..? If not very much, know that I'm a very sarcastic person, and quite a few things I write are meant to be read as such. Back to full Tony PoV this time, btw.**

** Kountoall: I simply enjoy the fact that you read and enjoy, but I adore the lovely comment. Thank you for being a devoted reader.**

_"True American love is like a green Coke bottle: They don't make it anymore." _Superhero by Trocadero.

* * *

By the time he got back to the Tower, Tony wanted a drink _bad. _Not just dealing with Coulson, no. He'd handled that while dying, he could handle the man when he was being cooperative and not threatening to tase him any day of the week. What he was having more trouble handling was the fact that babysitting the man meant he was basically stuck at Shield for a few extra hours... and he'd never been good at being stuck anywhere. Especially not when he potentially had a call from T'Challa waiting and a team depending on him to take said call. He'd forgotten that little part when he'd offered to stay behind.

He really should have forced Hawkass to do this shit. The little shit would probably have loved this, that sadist.

But, then, he really couldn't trust that Barton would have kept his mouth closed about the whole "disobeying Shield just a little bit" thing. It wasn't like they'd be able to keep it from Coulson long, he knew, but hopefully long enough that it wouldn't matter as much. Or, you know, until they could catch the bastard and convince him that they were right in this over Fury, and to keep _his _mouth shut... that option might be the most rewarding, but definitely the sketchiest.

Really, he couldn't trust any of them to keep their mouths shut about it besides Steve and Bruce, but the former, he was _not_ about to just hand over to the ever hero-worshiping Coulson, and the latter would have been very uncomfortable, and as much as Tony was hating being stuck there, it was better than feeling guilty at having stuck the other scientist with the Agent. He was jumpy around people for a much damn better reason than Tony, so he figured he could take one for the team.

Having Coulson on their side here might convince Fury that they weren't wrong later on when the man did find out... and of course he would find out. The man was the spy of spies, there was no way he wouldn't find out, but with luck, not until the moment was _right_. If Tony had his way, he'd have said the moment would never be right, but it wasn't his call. And wasn't he just pissed about that.

Or maybe he was just frustrated that Coulson was taking his damn sweet time in getting his things together.

And the man didn't seem to notice how edgy he was, oddly enough. He supposed that was another good thing about being him that he'd never noticed... people expected him to be impatient, so when he was, they never suspected anything abnormal was happening. The little things were important.

On the other side of that coin, however, was that since he was always like this, it didn't make the other man move any faster.

So, when Coulson finally nodded to Tony to indicate he was ready to go, Tony practically bolted from the building into the car he'd had Happy leave for him. Thankfully, it wasn't a particularly fast model... he could live without a "reckless driving" lecture from the Agent very happily, thank you... he already got them monthly from Pepper, whether or not she was with or even near him when he drove, half the time.

He still broke a few laws on his way home just for the hell of it, naturally, but none he suspected that Coulson hadn't been prepared for, given that the other man didn't say anything about it. When he finally pulled into the garage, however, and went to get out of the car, Coulson grabbed his wrist to stop him.

"Ok, I've known you long enough to know you aren't acting normally... all I need to know is _do I need to know?_" Tony paused before he shook his head softly.

"Oh, believe me, honey, the less you know right now, the less fucked over you'll be later." The other man nodded,

"I expected as much. Just don't do anything stupid, alright?" Tony rolled his eyes. Ok, maybe the man did know him a little better than he'd expected, with as little time they'd actually spent in one another's company. His arm was released, and he made for the door again before stopping himself on his own this time. He didn't look at the Agent.

"I am glad you're not dead, you know. Really." He could feel the smile on the Agents lips, even if he opted not to look, still. He hated doing that, show vulnerability to anyone... and really, for anyone else, that wouldn't be considered "showing vulnerability"... but then, most people didn't have to deal with being Tony Stark. He wasn't bitter at all.

He heard a muttered "Thanks" before the other door opened and he they both got out of the car.

"So, need me to show you to your room personally, or you think Jarvis could handle you?" this time he had no problem looking other to see the other mans smirk.

"Oh, I think I'll find my way around with a little verbal tour. Go back to being insane in your lab, or whatever it is that I don;t need to know about." Tony smirked right back at him. Why the hell did it take so long for him to get along with Coulson..? was it just because up until an hour ago, he'd thought him to be dead? That was probably it. Oh well, he was going to enjoy getting along with someone while it lasted. It was bound to end sooner than later, and there was no reason to force it sooner than necessary.

If the brief flicker in Coulsons eyes were any indication, he was wondering the same thing, and probably came to the same conclusion. Tony gave him a small nod and walked to the elevator without waiting for one back. After that, he was more lost in his own head than he was aware of hitting the button for the floor to his lab, or Coulson waiting silently beside him in the moving box for his own floor.

He wasn't even really aware when he stepped off the elevator and into the lab and made a bee-line over to the fully stocked bar. He poured himself a generous glass of scotch and brought it to him lips before Clint decided to say anything.

"Really? That bad, huh?" he just about jumped out of his fucking skin... and ended up splashing a fair amount of his drink onto his hand. He glared to the smiling man.

"Fuck, no, you don't get to do that. Seriously, spies, never heard of fucking knocking. So inconsiderate." He heard a feminine snort from the direction of the couch, and didn't need to bother with looking to guess that the rest of the team was waiting for him there. Instead he focused on walking over to the sink to wash the sticky amber liquid off of him before he started smelling too much like an alcoholic.

"Well, maybe if you bothered looking around ever, you wouldn't be so easily caught by surprise."

"Right, because it's just so normal to check my _rafters_ just to be sure that a little bird isn't trying to build his nest up there?" There was a familiar, muffled half-laugh from the couch, and Tony smiled to himself. He hadn't heard Steve laugh in far too long. He glanced up long enough to catch Clint glaring at him, and smiled at the man. "Hey, J. Did I manage to miss that call I was waiting for?"

"Yes, Sir."

"Fuck." He rubbed a hand over his face. "How long?"

"Twenty Minutes." he shot a glare over to the group on the couch.

"And none of you thought to answer?"

"Please, and risk your friend getting pissed at us? No thanks." Clint dropped from the support beams above to land in a crouch. Bruce snorted but nodded anyway.

"He has a point... it might risk war with Wakanda." Tony blinked at them. Twice.

"You guys really don't know a damn thing about Wakandans, do you?" Natasha gave him a 'No Shit' look. "Right... well, first off, its answering a call, not walking into a jungle filled with angry men with spears." He shuttered. " second, if anything, T'Challa would be more amused than pissed. It's not very easy to get him mad when you're on a different continent than him. At worst, you'd get hung up on. Terrifying." Bruce just shrugged while the others looked at him like he was insane... Thor and Steve, unsurprisingly, just looked confused.

Steve blushed lightly and didn't look at any of them. "Alright, you guys keep mentioning this 'Wakanda.' why haven't I ever heard of it?" Tony smiled. He knew he'd mentioned it once or twice back in the 40's... he should have expected T'Chaka to wipe that part out of his mind too.

"I'm not really surprised that you haven't... They're a pretty secretive country, Cap." Steve frowned and glanced at him briefly.

"So they aren't some new country or anything?" Tony didn't bother to muffle his laugh.

"No, they're not a new country. Actually, they're probably one of the longest-surviving ones. But, hey, like I said. Secretive." Steve nodded and leaned back into the couch and shut his eyes. Tony frowned. He must not be getting much sleep. Why wasn't he sleeping right now? He should be. Not like he could suggest it, not like a normal person. Bruce would see through that in a second and try to get him to talk again... and he really wasn't ready for that. Uhg... talking.

Instead, he smirked, and let his eyes narrow at the group. "I'm surprised there are no naps taking place." There, that should sound unconcerned enough to pass. Clint raised and eyebrow at him, and Natasha sighed.

"Tried. Failed. Too much going on to bother. Felt more productive to wait down in this mess." Tony frowned. Mess his ass... this place was perfectly workable. His bots made sure of that... he glanced over to the counter and frowned a the mess of attempted smoothie. This one had chunks of black goo splattered along the glass.

"Not my fault that you guys came down without an invitation... please tell me none of you accepted anything from Dummy, he's not a good host." Steve blushed, and shifted his eyes to a metallic cup settled neatly on the floor next to him.

"Sorry... I tried to tell him I wasn't thirsty... I haven't tried it, though." Tony took a moment to blink. Well, that was probably the fastest someone had ever referred to any of his bots besides Jarvis as a Him instead of It. That was pleasant... still, he forced himself to hide his smile. He could handle looking weak like that in front of Steve, maybe Bruce, on a good day... but that was about it.

"Don't bother. He can't seem to grasp the concept that we aren't all machines. It's probably mostly just motor oil, from the look of it." The corner of Steve's mouth twitched as if he wanted to smile, but just nodded instead. Bruce rolled his eyes at the two of them, but kept his mouth shut. "Hey, Dummy! Yeah, you, useless. What are you doing over there? You should know by now to clean up your mess. That's it, when I'm done here, I'm making you a Dunce cap. You earned it." The bot whirred happily, and rolled over to the sink to knock the blender top into the sink... where it promptly broke.

He started to say something, but decided it was best not to bother, and just waved a dismissive hand as he turned back to the others. For some reason, _now_ Steve was smiling. Not the fake one he had been trying to fool the rest of world with, but a sincere one, one Tony was starting to think he'd never get a chance to see again. He didn't even wonder what he was smiling about, whatever it was, it was worth that smile. Probably best for him not to know. He almost smiled back, but shook himself out of it.

"Alright, J. might as well call back... hopefully he isn't running off again." Instead of an answer, a large screen off to the side of the couch lit itself up, and showed a waiting symbol. This time, it didn't take long before the screen flickered, and the man appeared on screen with a bright smile waiting.

"Ah, there you are, my friend. I was beginning to become worried. It is most unlike you to send me an urgent message then disappear." Tony let himself smile at the man, now.

"Yeah, well, you were taking your time responding, so I was forced to go deal with a very irritable pirate." T'Challa let of a short laugh and shook his head.

'I don't think I wish to know. Now, what was it you wished to speak to me about... and might I point out your couch is rather filled?" Tony glanced back at them and smirked a little.

"Yeah it is... don;t worry, they're locked in a sacred circle of trust and secrecy. And what do you know about magic?"

"... The things you consider to be 'sacred' have strange names... but, then, I'm guessing you made that up. If you trust them, I shall trust in your judgment. And Magic? For the most part, only what we know more than your government... not much more, but perhaps enough to help you?"

"Know anything about tracking a magical signature or something equally silly sounding?" T'Challa grew thoughtful for a moment, long enough for Tony to send another glance back at his team... they were being un-naturally quiet. Odd, he'd thought that the two Agents and Bruce would be jumping all over him. They were all just staring at him, a little wide eyed. He frowned. Well, he supposed that without knowing him, T'Challa did look like a pretty threatening man. Those intense, yellow eyes, wide shoulders, the fact that even sitting calmly he looked like the King he was, like the Panther he embodied. Maybe they hadn't been expecting that. He shrugged and turned back to the screen.

"Perhaps we could figure out some way to... we would need some signature of what we would be looking for, naturally." Tony winced.

"Naturally... I'll get right on that." T'Challa frowned slightly.

"Nothing? Oh, well. We shall begin scanning for anything unusual, though I must warn you, it shall be a much wider scale than it we had something to pin-point."

"Anything right now is better than nothing, thank you for your cooperation." Of fucking course it was Natasha who was the first to get control back in the situation. Normally he wouldn't mind... but her... approach... wasn't something that he could see his friend reacting positively to. T'Challa raised an eyebrow as his eyes shifted to her.

"Oh? Odd friends you have acquired, Anthony." At least he was smile, so Tony just shrugged.

"They're better than they seem." The other man laughed at Natasha's slightly indignant glare.

"Oh, I meant no offense. But a Russian martial artist who has little fear of me... that is a rare combination to find." The rest of the teams eyes widened. He rolled his eyes. Naturally T'Challa had seen right through her. Well, it did seem to be a trait of any Black Panther. Still, it was amusing to see Hawkeye at a loss for a comeback.

He jumped again as the doors behind him slid open and he spun, dread knotted in the pit of his stomach.

Coulson stepped into the room... and paled when he glanced to the screen. It took him a few seconds before he could speak. Well, shit. If it was out of the bag already, he might as well make it difficult for the other man.

"Stark... is that who I think it is?"

"How could I possibly know who you think it is?" Tony rolled his eyes. "But if you think it's my old buddy T'Challa, then congratulations, you're good at the guessing game." The man waved slightly, amusement already clouding his yellow eyes.

Coulson coughed, trying not to choke then let himself relax into a glare he pointed at Tony.

"I meant, is that really the King of the reclusive kingdom of Wakanda, just _chatting_ with you when the President of the United States has trouble convincing anyone there _at all_ to speak to him for more than two minutes?" Steve's eyes widened and snapped back to the man on screen. Thor looked interested, and the others looked away, trying to seem innocent in the middle of it all.

"Oh. Then yes. T'Challa and I have been friends for years." T'Challa snorted.

"And I might be more willing to speak to your government if they were not constantly harassing me about selling them Vibranium, or trying to convince me to allow your soldiers into Wakanda soil."

Steve shook his head. "Why won't you? We'd be able to help protect you." Tony winced and met Steve's eyes quickly before giving the slightest shake of his head, but T'Challa just smiled.

"I understand that you are a friend of Anthony, so I will not take offense. Wakanda has never needed outside protection. We are very capable of protecting our own lands, and have done so successfully for thousands of years. In this time, we have not let others into our lands... I am not about to change that." Steve nodded slowly.

"That's reasonable, I suppose. As long as you're not a threat, of course."

"We do not attack unless attacked first, Captain, and only then if the offending are too stubborn...or stupid... and persistent to understand their mistake." Steve nodded again.

Tony smirked. Oh man, Clint was right... Fury was going to have a fucking stroke. At least something good came from this... the man deserved it after what he'd pulled today. "Oh, what, do I not really exist then? Words can hurt, man."

"You were... and remain... a special case, my friend. Which brings me to my offer at this point of the call, as luck would have it: you should come visit. It is the perfect time for such a thing, do not even try to deny this. If anything happens while you're here, your friends here are surely more than capable of handling it, and research involving your request would move much more quickly with your direct input, my friend."

Coulson might as well have been a fish. Steve just looked confused all over again. Thor had lost interest again, but the others were staring at him, wide eyed. And Tony... was actually considering the offer. It really would be nice to go back to Wakanda. Sure, it was in the middle of some crazy forest where just about everything seemed to want you dead, but it was peaceful enough... definitely the most peaceful place he'd ever been.

T'Challa must have sensed his hesitation, because the man nodded with a small smile. "Sleep on the offer, my friend, and let me know. We will have to inform Wakanda's guards so as not to have repeat of your famous last visit." The man laughed loudly, fondly, before continuing. " I shall let you go... you seem to have other things more in need of your attention. I shall look into what you wished." Tony nodded at the man with an appreciative glance and the Panther was gone from the screen leaving the room to echo its sudden silence. He could feel Coulson staring daggers into his back.

Clint cleared his throat. "So. Famous visit, huh? Sounds like a good story."

"Let's just say that it's not very pleasant to land in the middle of a field and find a spear shoved in your face and leave it at that."

"And when exactly were you planning on informing Shield of this information?" Well, Coulson found his voice. That whole 'getting along' thing really hadn't lasted very long.

"When you needed to know, which, just so you know, you don't." Coulson paused and blinked, then gave him an insulted look. "Seriously, I really don't see what my personal relationships have anything to do with Fury, do you?"

"_That's_ what you were keeping from Shield? And here I thought it was something dangerous." Thor opened his mouth, but thankfully Clint caught his arm and shook his head when the god looked at him. His mouth snapped shut and twisted in mild confusion, but nodded.

"Oh, please. If that was something I really wanted to keep from Shield, I would have tried to hide it better. But, you know, since you have _no control_ over who I decide my friends are, I figured it didn't exactly matter." Oh, please buy that bluff... sure, he hadn't come across the whole of it, but it be better to convince him he had nothing.

"Well, when you're friend just so happens to be _him_, you're dead wrong about it not being our business. Dammit, Stark, we could have used this, had we known." It was Tony's turn to glare at the man, now.

"Right, because that's what I want... Shield to be able to use my friend." Coulson started to reply, but surprisingly was cut off by Steve.

"Stark has a point, Sir. They aren't a threat, that was made clear. It's not right to just keep tabs on someone like that. It's not what our forefathers would have wanted when they created this country. It's not just some Right that Shield has. I think it would be best if you respected Their rights." There was something softly dangerous under his calm tone that almost made Tony smile. Oh, there was no way in Hell that Coulson hadn't picked it up too... meaning his hands were tied.

As expected the man paused, and glanced between the two of them, considering. Finally, he shifted and sighed before turning to leave. "Fine... For now, this is personal business for you, Stark. Don't make me make you regret forcing me into that conclusion, Captain." Ouch, harsh. He glanced back to where Steve was now standing. He met the Captains eye, trying to force an apology into his features. Steve smiled slightly and nodded. It might not have been much, but it forced him to smile back just as gently. Surprise sparked through the other mans blue eyes before they turned thoughtful. The urge to yell melted away from him at that smile, made him feel lighter.

Tony shook his head and turned his gaze away from Steve to the others and cleared his throat, just to be sure he'd be able to speak normally.

"So. Thoughts?" He still fucking needed a damn drink.

* * *

** Next chapter might be up late... not overly likely, I'll try to get it up on Friday, just a heads up in case I don't... very busy week for me, might not get much time with my computer, especially since after Tuesday I'll probably be spending most of my free time beating the new Deadpool game... been looking forward to that for months. But seriously, it shouldn't be up, just covering my ass in case it is. **


	9. Variance

** Awesome, got my last chapter written a few days before scheduled, so I can start on this one and most probably have it up on Friday! So glad I seem to be over the whole "Can't write anything for the life of me" thing. I wouldn't call it writers block, it was different than that, for some reason I can't put to words. Oh well, lets get on with it, then. Will try to have a full Steve PoV this time. **

"_I don't want to be perfect, just alright."_ Look Away-by Thousand Foot Krutch

* * *

As it turned out, the fortunate part of it all was that Asgardians didn't seem to believe in being subtle.

The unfortunate part was that as soon as they found her, she didn't do a damn thing that would give them reason to go after her, so they were forced to sit around and just watch. It was boring, and it would have been so much easier if they didn't have to keep dodging Coulson... after the whole T'Challa thing, for some reason he didn't really trust Tony. Steve snorted a laugh. He guessed he wasn't really surprised. He wasn't _happy_ or comfortable with that for some reason he couldn't put his finger on, but it just irritated him more than anything.

Because, really, as soon as you started looking at it the right way, Tony was a really trustworthy guy. Well, as long as you weren't trusting him to look after his own health... but towards other people, he was probably the one closest to having Steve's trust, he had to admit to himself. He tried not to notice, but he just couldn't help it... the man was always there when he was needed. It was hard not to notice when they had found Amora's location and they all started spending time down in the shop with Tony... who pretended to be irritated at them for taking up space. The slight smile that he tried to hide led them all to ignore his complaints, though.

They never were all down in the shop at the same time, of course... they took turns trying to distract Coulson. It was easier for some than others... easier for him. Coulson followed him around as if he were a shadow, getting irritated when people tried to talk with him when he went jogging, or got coffee while he was out, anything. He didn't enjoy the hero-worship in the normally calm eyes, or the slight strain to the mans voice, but there was no way around that... he hoped that in time it would fade.

In an odd way, it was just relaxing to be around Tony. He treated him like everyone else, teased him and even if sometimes it made his blood start to boil pleasantly, it was a welcome change to the kid gloves most treated him with. It turned out that he teased everyone like that and it was clear from the others' reactions- how the dark man grew more relaxed after someone just laughed off one of his jokes- that that was all they were... he wasn't being malicious, just trying to be friendly.

Sure, it was an odd way to go about it, but at least he was blunt and honest about things, unlike many he had encountered. It almost reminded him more of his time in the Army, when people weren't so keen on hiding everything... and sure, Tony would do that just as much as anyone else in this time... just not when he was around the team. When he had to do an interview for some news station talking about the attack, he was all fake smiles, captivating charm and half-truths that skirted whatever topic they tried to force on him... he played that game well. Really he was just glad that it did seem to only be a game for the genius. It would have been absolutely impossible to deal with if his personality really had been that fake.

Honestly, the only downside to the waiting, really, was that there was nothing much for them to do in Tony's shop while he worked other keeping an eye on the trace they had on the Enchantress, and Jarvis was very capable of doing just that... but no one was willing to just wait for the AI to say anything. So for the first few hours, the grew bored easily. That didn't last very long. The easiest fix there was Bruce: as long as he didn't get in Tony's way, the other man didn't mind sharing lab-space.

Steve considered himself to be pretty easy to occupy as well... he'd shown up in the shop the day after they found her to find a sketchbook and various art supplies stacked by the corner of the couch... he had no doubts that they were intended for him, especially since once he touched them, Dummy whirred happily at him from across the room... Tony had been careful to keep the bots away from them, for the most part. It was really too bad, he didn't mind Dummy, but after the smoothie thing the day before, he could understand. He'd tried to thank Tony for the supplies, but the man hadn't really said anything, just gave him a small, secretive smile before turning back to one of his countless projects. It warmed him in a way he wasn't sure he was comfortable with.

After that, it was pretty hard to even get angry at the man, much less yell at him about anything much.

Natasha and Clint ended up forcing Tony to buy something they called an x-box for them almost immediately after that and played games where they tried to kill one another with rather un-believable characters... Steve had tried to join them, but found it impossible to control the characters on the screen very well, much less to the point the other two were at... And if he practiced at it while the others weren't around to laugh at him, well, they didn't need to know that. Tony complained about the noise the games created, but every once in a while he would stop what he was doing to play a round or two with them. Unsurprisingly, he usually won.

Clint seemed a bit put off and complained that they were trained assassins, they should be better at Assassin's Creed than some Engineer... but Tony just smirked.

"It's Technology... you really think I can't technology better than you?" Ok, so maybe they'd been drinking. Normally Steve would have been disappointed, but this time he really didn't mind. It made watching them play so much more amusing. After that, Clint just accused him of cheating. Which, of course, he denied.

Thor was really the biggest problem out of the bunch... he didn't really have much in the way of Earthly hobbies and he was worse at video games than Steve was... After he'd broken seven controllers and two tvs within the space of half a day, Tony finally had to come up with an easier answer for him... Cartoons, or sometimes "Old" movies... old being old for the rest of them, to Steve they were still new experiences, so he never minded when Thor was in the shop to watch with him, even if some of the movies would cause Natasha to roll her eyes or Clint to whine endlessly.

If Coulson ever wondered what they were keeping from him after that first misstep, Steve never heard about it...it seemed that he was working quite well with them to avoid actively knowing what was going on. Still, without Jarvis to warn them before he could walk in on anything again, it would have been just about impossible. Steve suspected that he had kept his word about not going to Fury about T'Challa since the Director didn't make an appearance...that something that made spending time with the other man a little bit more bearable little bits at a time, at least. If Fury had found out, there would be no hiding what they were doing, seeing as the spy himself would probably be at the Tower yelling at Tony for days on end, and who knew how far Stark's patience ran. Farther than any of them suspected, be guessed. But enough to put up with and angry Fury? Doubtful.

Today, as much as he liked his team, he almost found himself wishing that they would go off and leave him to draw in peace with just Tony around... sure, they still really weren't talking or friendly, nothing like that, but the others were loud in a different way than the scientist was... Tony would constantly be talking, mostly to himself or to Jarvis, or his bots, sometimes to people over the phone... something it always took a few minutes for Steve to figure out. He was always in motion, even standing still, he would twirl a wrench or a pencil through his fingers, mess with his hair absent-mindedly, eyes constantly darting in random directions as he ran his gaze over his work... anything to keep from being still.

But it was a more peaceful type of noise, one that he was used to after being around people like Howard Stark or Dr. Erskine for the time he had. The others, though... they created a more chaotic noise and while it was fun, it was also rather stressful. Always yelling at one another over the Tv, Thor's thunderous laugh or weeping echoing through the room as he watched some show or another... Even Bruce's tense silence screamed through the room if he paid enough attention to it. And when he was on Coulson duty, he always felt obligated to try to keep some kind of conversation going, because of guilt or just awkwardness, he wasn't sure. Nothing really deep or anything, just asking about silly things that had taken over the future... what types of Tv show he enjoyed, movies, cell phone, anything. Most of the time he didn't understand the answers.

Actually, because of what they all started calling guard duty, he'd missed the next time Tony's friend had called and talked with the group... he was more disappointed than he'd expected to be. It felt like the man was very relaxed, calm. He seemed interesting and he imagined they could have very interesting discussions... that is, if Tony wouldn't mind giving up some time with the other man to him. But because of how quickly they had found Amora, Tony had had no reason to call him back up, and Steve would have felt ridiculous asking him to, just so he could talk a bit with him. He had plenty of people to talk with as it was, after all.

He sighed and glanced around the lab. Clint was off on guard duty this time and Natasha and Thor were both enveloped in some movie about monkeys ruling the world that Steve just couldn't get in to however he tried. Bruce had given up trying to work a few hours ago and was now trying to nap off in a corner, not that he was getting much luck with it, most likely due to the noise. Tony, naturally, was hovering over one of his work benches, messing around with some golden chunk of Iron Man armour, the blue glow of hologram designs spread around him, floating aimlessly within arms reach in all directions.

Steve couldn't remember being so lonely in his life, not when his mother had died, or when Bucky had fallen, even when he'd had to crash the plane into the ice...

It was ridiculous. He was surrounded by amazing people, all of whom seemed to genuinely care for him, surrounded by technology that he could only ever dream of as a child... and he was home-sick. It hit him all at once and painfully, a bullet to the stomach without having the decency to let him bleed. He'd thought he'd gotten over this when he'd moved into the Avengers Tower, finally had people around to talk to...

He knew a trip to the gym wouldn't fix anything this time. Before, he had been able to shove it aside with anger and frustration, then exhaust himself. This time, there was nothing to even be frustrated at, not really... he'd accepted that this was what he was stuck with, now. This was where he was meant to be, with or without his permission. It was done, something to move past, and he had been so angry for the past few days that he had all but burnt himself out... his shame for being so angry at Tony just for being himself probably the biggest factor in dousing that to a mere spark, the other being that even knowing Fury was wrong, that they were doing the right thing anyway. He wished he could get angry.

Instead of getting himself worked up over it, he glanced around again and sighed softly to himself. He tried again to watch the movie, but found his eyes drifted off around the room within minutes of setting his eyes on the screen. He could go take over for Clint... the other man would appreciate it and it would give him someone to talk to... but that sounded more stressful than anything. Sure, they could talk, but it all it did was remind Steve that he was out of his depth and alone. With Bruce it was the same problem, even if he could get the man talking.

Natasha would read through why he wanted to talk in a heartbeat and he really didn't her to worry about him and as for Thor... well, other than battle strategies and helping one another try to figure out how things worked, they didn't have too much to talk about with one another about. He liked the God, of course and Thor seem like him, but there just wasn't enough that they had in common to hold the type of conversation that he needed. Which just left Tony.

Normally, he wouldn't have even thought about trying to approach the man. But...

Well. He'd never really had a chance to talk to the man and obviously he had misjudged him from the start... maybe he could actually be of some help. It didn't hurt that when he started thinking about going over and talking to him, the loneliness that was all but threatening to take over died down just a little. Besides, it couldn't hurt to try to get to know him better... they were a team, after all. They should be able to trust one another. How could they trust each other if they never spoke?

And really, what was the worst that could come of it? They'd argue or Tony would send him away and both options gained him something he could use to work off the home-sickness... anger. Not that it was what he wanted- the thought made his stomach tense- but it would patch his heart for a little bit. Long enough to come up with something better to deal with it.

When he stood, no one even glanced his way... they'd all gotten used to one of them standing up every now and then just to stretch their legs. They didn't seem to notice him as he made his way through the shop over to Tony and came to a stop so that he could watch the older man for a few seconds before he reached out, just barely and touched the mans shoulder with two fingers.

Tony's shocked eyes met his own sad ones, knowing full well he was giving puppy dog eyes to the man, pleading with him. _'please don't send me away... I feel less alone right here.' _He tried to keep it out of his voice, all the same.

"Sorry to bother you, but I was just curious about what you've been up to, here. Mind if I hang out for a little?" The other man stared into him for a moment longer, then Tony smiled at him, a gentle, small one,just enough to reach his eyes before he moved over enough for Steve to join him at the bench and carefully started to explain what he was doing, pointing in the general direction of different parts every few seconds. Steve just let his voice wash over him, and relaxed for the first time since Thor showed up.

Tony didn't seem to expect him to listen, but he never stopped talking, nothing Steve could understand, but it was enough. Enough to push his home-sickness away. He could feel the others staring a the two of them now, but he found he couldn't care less. There was something so familiar about this, so calming. He hadn't really expected that Tony would be ok with it, much less that he'd be just as happy listening to him just talk.

Tony continued talking, but Steve was more interested in just watching his hands work over wires and metal. He caught himself staring as the man worked, but he didn't bother to look away. He could see how easy it was that Tony could lose track of time like this. It was fascinating, but again familiar. It was something he was used to, he supposed. For once, the thought of Howard didn't bring a painful pang of loss.

He only snapped out of his trace when Jarvis gave a quick warning a few seconds before Clint and Coulson came into the room. He sighed as Tony's voice stopped and they both turned, Steve trying to keep a glare off of his face... Tony didn't seem to mind the one on his, however. Maybe something had happened the other day when he'd had to wait for the Agent to grab his things and the drive back? He didn't doubt it... as torn up that Tony had seemed to be after his death had been announced, he hadn't really seemed to get along with the man before-hand. Then again, knowing now how Tony was with people, being able to look at it from a different angle, he was starting to wonder about his initial understanding about how Tony's relationship with the agent was.

Steve swore he hear Tony sigh before he stood up and was gone from Steve's side leaving the loneliness to rushed back in. He had to stop himself from reaching out to grab him. He hoped it didn't show too much on his face... he wouldn't be able to explain it to the team if he tried. He couldn't explain it to himself.

He bit back a sigh of his own as he stood up and made his way back to the couch with the others. They were now watching some cartoon about a talking dog solving crime... he wasn't so sure how he felt about the show. Thankfully, all he got out of the others already on the couch was a raised eyebrow and hidden half-smile from Natasha and a smile of greeting from Thor. Bruce just stared at him from across the room. Clint looked confused, but didn't really put too much attention into it. Coulson glared back at Tony when the other man paced his way to the other side of his shop to grab some new materials.

He hadn't seemed to need anything before, so Steve figured he just got away to avoid another yelling match with the agent. Steve was thankful for that, really... sure, while Tony's voice seemed to be soothing for him, but he doubted it would be so helpful in that manner. Coulson glanced around, but didn't say anything, a spark lighting in his eyes when they finally came to a rest on him. His stomach sank... he knew that look meant that he would insist on spending time with him, now. He glanced around for help, trying not to look too desperate while doing so.

"Hey, Cap. Get your ass over here, will you? Need you to lift this... must have fallen over and I just haven't had time to lift it back up." Steve relaxed again. Ohh... he owed Tony for this one, whether the other man knew it or not. He jumped back up off of the couch, away from his teams eyes and darted over to Tony's side again. The other man jumped slightly at how quickly he was there, but gave him a look that suggested that he not say anything and gestured to an overturned cabinet. He smiled lightly at the other mans back.

It wasn't heavy... actually, if he had to bet on it, he'd have probably put money down on Tony being able to lift it on his own, even without suiting up... still, he couldn't have been more thankful for the out he'd given him, so he didn't say anything about it. Tony reached down to grab some of the wires that had spilled out under it, but looked up to give him a secretive wink. He had to smile back... maybe he was being too obvious about how stressed he was, if Tony could tell. For now, though...

Whatever, he'd take it. And since Tony didn't seem to mind, all the better.

Thor's booming laugh echoed through the room, turning everyone's head to see Coulson looking slightly uncomfortable as he was pulled down to the couch next to him. He never had been very comfortable around the demigod... well, it would be good for the two of them to spend more time with one another, since it seemed Coulson was now living in the Tower with them, and Thor wasn't about to go back to Asgard any time soon, not with Amora as a potential threat. As long as Thor remembered to keep himself quiet about the whole tracking a potential enemy thing, they really didn't have much to worry about.

But, even if the others constantly forgot it, Thor was the oldest one of them by far, the most experienced, and sure, he might not understand much of Earth customs, or their technology any more than Steve did, but he was a warrior. He wouldn't have been alive so long if he couldn't be smart about planning and keeping those plans to himself and out of prying ears. So, they probably didn't have anything to be worried about with him.

Bruce kept looking nervously over at the two, but Natasha couldn't seem to care less. Clint had collapsed onto the floor and covered his eyes with his arm. Steve smiled slightly over at them, and shook his head.

"Good mood?" His grip slipped on the cabinet for half a second, but he caught it before it slipped. Tony wasn't looking at him, but his voice held a smile. Steve snorted.

"Not overly... just, well, look at them." He nodded over to the group and Tony glanced around him over to the group.

"Hmm. They look comfortable. Must mean something bad is just going to ruin it." Steve glanced back over at him, brows knitting together in confusion.

"What makes you think that?" The other man shrugged.

"Just look back at history. Bad shit always happens and the only time we can clearly see it coming is when there is a moment of calm to look forward." Steve looked back over at the group.

"Not sure I'd look at it that way, but I suppose you're not wrong." Tony coughed to cover a light laugh and Steve found himself smiling again before he could think about why.

"Maybe not. You're not an overly cynical person, after all." Steve shrugged. "Don't worry, I'm cynical enough for the both of us." Steve laughed again and Tony's smile got wider. So strange, they were actually getting along... that wasn't something that he saw coming earlier that day. But then, he hadn't really thought about it and he found once again that he actually didn't mind it. As pleasant as it was to let himself relax a little bit, it was almost as nice to see Tony doing the same. With luck, it wouldn't be just a one time thing.

* * *

** I know X-Box isn't really many people's favorite console right now, after the whole x-box One announcement, but it's the one I'm more familiar with, and the only one that plays Halo... and come on, Master Chief is like a mix between Cap and Iron-man, what's not to love? Oh well, anyway, at least I got the chapter up on time, hope you guys enjoy. **

** Chapter slightly shorter than I wanted, but I did say before I was busy, so there's nothing for it. Enjoy you guys. **


	10. Relent

******Holy shit, I just realized the day before I put chapter 11 up that I didn't update this one last week... i put it into my docs on the site, then apparently, my mind said good enough. sooooo sorry, you guys, did NOT mean to do that... my bad, really.**

** First of all, happy fourth of July this week, hope you all enjoyed yourself. This past week I really fell off my schedule for writing this and just started on the fourth, a Thursday... meaning this needs to go up tomorrow(Thus it being shorter than last chapter, I try not to do that). Hopefully, I won't have to skip sleeping to make that happen... and I just managed to dump half a cup of cold coffee onto my lap, somehow. Awesome. **

** Split PoV again, sorry, can't focus enough to write single PoV chapter right now, so much easier to split it up.**

"_I think I'm ready, I think I've got it, 'cuz too much thinking is bad for my health."_** We Are One~ Thousand Foot Krutch**

* * *

Tony tried not to let it show that he enjoyed having the others around as much as he did. Sure, they were messy and loud, but having people around him so constantly was a situation he'd never gotten to experience before. Even in college, he had been younger than everyone around him had been years older. Sure, he still went to the parties and managed to piss people off by having a teenager drink the older students under the table without pause, but that didn't exactly help gain him any favors, there. And, he could admit now, neither had his sharp tongue. That had always made him believe that he hated being around other people and that the feeling was mutual.

That didn't seem to be the case, this time. They didn't seem to mind his muttering to himself, or the occasional situation that just begged for music to be blasted through the shop or even his insane hours. They kept coming back. Bruce would work with him from time to time when he wasn't messing with something of a more mechanical nature. When he got bored, Clint, Thor and not so surprisingly Natasha could keep up with him drinking then didn't really mind when he kicked their ass at video games. Best of all, Steve started coming over to watch him work. He wasn't sure when the man had had a change of heart when it came to being near him, and he didn't want to question it.

Really, the only problem was the disapproving looks that Coulson kept shooting at him whenever they were in the same room. Sure, he was used to that kind of shit, and it wasn't hard to put up with, but it was still slightly annoying. Having Steve around more than made up for it, seeing as every time they were next to one another, Coulson's face couldn't seem to land on an expression. At first, the others seemed to think it was odd, too, but being them, didn't say anything. At least, not to him.

It was really more tense than anything, but it was tension that he was willing to go through. He was pretty sure that the only reason Steve was alright with being close to him was because he was lonely... homesick, probably. And Steve had been there for Tony when he was going through something similar, so it was the least he could do to do the same for the man, even if he couldn't really comfort him in any way. At least Steve didn't expect him to do anything, so it didn't make him feel as bad as it would have otherwise. He still wished that he could do more. Oh well, good enough.

Another thing was, Coulson was starting not to want to be entertained. Sure, at first, he would put up with it, and he would pretend not to know what was going on, but now, every time they switched off, he was looking more and more irritated and started spending more time alone without trying to come down into the shop. Tony was sure it was eating at him to, but he appreciated that he still trusted

him enough to stay back. Or, hell, maybe it was the fact that Tony was always down there that made him avoid the place... He wouldn't be surprised.

Over the course of three days since they'd found Amora, they had all slowly stopped actively watching the trace, and just let Jarvis deal with it... Tony was a little surprised-happily, of course- that they had warmed up to him as quickly as he had. The others were most astounded that Steve got along with the AI so well, but Tony just laughed it off... he did have the unfair advantage of knowing the other man pretty well, after all.

Probably the most convenient part of it all was that Fury wasn't checking in and watching them like Tony had suspected he would. The Director probably trusted Coulson to do a good enough job of that, of course, but it was still nice that every day when he did a scan to look for bugs, there was nothing to be found. If he had been anyone else, he would have been suspicious, and tried to look harder, manually even, but that was part of being Tony Stark: he was the best at what he did, so there was no need to waste the time.

The unfortunate part in it all was that since the others were always there, taking turns to even sleep in the small cot that Bruce had set up, it didn't give Tony much of a chance to test out anything that would potentially make him look like a complete moron... meaning the new armour he had been working on, armour that would come to him and form itself around him without the use of the slick metal bracelets he never took off. Once he finished it, of course he would look like a complete badass and everything, but until he got it right... well. He might trust the assholes, but they did not need to see that, and he learned he enjoyed having the company too much to send them out... of course, he convinced himself that it was because it gave him a chance to work on other armour in the downtime, but deep down, he knew better.

As much as they ended up distracting him, on and off through the day, he still got a lot of work done... and he knew it was just nervous, busy-work. If they were about to be in another fight with aliens, he was going to make damn sure that he was prepared this time... he'd hate to die when he could see a way not to. So, you know. Deep space suit: necessary.

Well, that's what it started as, at least. It was slowly morphing itself into a Hulk take-down suit... just in case it ever became necessary. And it wasn't like he thought it would, but at Bruce's prodding, he was left with no choice. It would have helped if the rest of the group had actually heard that conversation, so they would stop giving him odd looks every time the specs came up, though. Eventually he just quit and named it Igor to put a stop to that. Steve was always close enough to see through that. Thankfully, he always just gave it what he was sure was supposed to be a disapproving glare, but the spark in the back of his eyes told a different story.

As much as they all hated it, it was better to have the fail-safe, especially in Hulk's case.

Steve seemed to be doing a bit better today, thankfully. On the other hand, it meant that he was sitting over with the others on the couch, trying to play Minecraft... the Soldier actually wasn't doing badly. Hell, it's not like he could, it was a pretty easy game and there weren't a lot of ways Clint could fuck with the other man if he was being smart about it... and seeing as Steve was all about strategy and careful planning. The worst he got was Creepers blowing him to hell when he stepped outside.

He pulled himself away from watching the group back to Igor, and pushed the headache that had been threatening him away from his attention. It didn't work, and he ended up having to bury his head in his hands and focus on breathing until the stab of pain ebbed away. Uhg, he hadn't gotten a headache like this from staring at a computer screen since his college days. He was still getting ridiculously sick of headaches, though. Far too many since the attack.

He waited for his vision to clear before he pulled his face away from his palms and blinked heavily until the black edged itself away from his sight. He pushed the holograms away, compacting them down to a small file and sent the away before looking back over to the couch. Clint was staring at him, almost concerned, and Steves spot was empty. It took him far too long to realize it was because the other man was halfway across the room. His mouth was moving, but Tony couldn't hear anything other than a steady buzzing... that wasn't normal.

He could feel his lungs working again, but his throat wasn't allowing it, his heart beating painfully against the metal of his reactor. He needed to get up, get to his suit, get outside, anything, but he couldn't get his legs to move. His vision was starting to cloud again, and he felt himself groan in frustration... he wasn't sure if it actually made it out or not. Steve vanished again, and he forced himself to keep trying to breathe.

There was something warm grabbing his arm, but it didn't matter, it didn't feel real. The air around him vibrated as someone started talking to him. He wasn't sure how he knew that's what it was, it was instinct.

**"**Breath deep. Come on... one breath. Not that hard. You've done it all of your life, doing so right now should not be that hard. One breath...please, just one. One, and your lungs will figure it out."

The voice prodded at the edge of his mind, and no matter how he tried, he couldn't catch hold of it. But he needed to... he knew that. No, instead, his vision grew more blurred, his throat clenched itself shut and his chest heaved, every inch of his body gasping and struggling for a simple breath that refused to come. He wondered absently if this was how fish felt when they were pulled from the water. If so, fish were a lot more badass than he'd ever given them credit for being. Took a lot to die this way.

Then, as suddenly as it had come on, something clicked together and he managed to take a shaky breath. He blinked and looked up to see Bruce hovering over him, quite frantic looking. It really would have made him nervous if he'd been able to process that. Instead, he let out a slightly raspy laugh.

"Damn, calm down, man. Shit's fine."

"Tony, 'shit' is not fine. You just stopped breathing, this could be serious..." despite his words, the doctor did relax, of only a little bit. Tony sighed and leaned into the hand that was still grabbing his shoulder in a death grip. Any other time, he might have complained that it hurt, but at that moment, he'd prefer if it didn't leave... actually, both of Bruce's hands were in his line of sight, clenched and pale...

He shifted his eyes to the side and met Steves terrified blue eyes with his own and without thinking smiled up to the man, leaning into the grip even more. Steve didn't relax.

"Of course it's fine, used to get this all the time back in my teens, just need some air. You know how it gets sometimes, being cooped up." Technically, that was a lie... he used to get very similar attacks, sure... but those, he could always breath, and he was comfortable categorizing those as heat stroke or dehydration... this hadn't felt like heat stroke. Maybe if he'd been alone, or if Jarvis hadn't been making sure that the temperature in the shop was reasonable, he might have been willing to accept that... but good as he was at ignoring the heat, the others weren't... they would have changed it long before his body reacted like that.

No... this would need some looking into, but not with the others around, still staring, still panicking. So it was best just to downplay this. His bracelets would transfer anything to Jarvis anyway, so if it was important he could just have the AI analyze it later, when he could get his heart to beat normally again.

Bruce frowned as Clint went back to his game unconcerned.

"You sure you're good?" he smiled lightly and nodded.

"Yeah. Come on, it feels like we've been down here far too long, let's go grab pizza or something.

* * *

**S**

Steve couldn't keep his heart from racing. To be fair, he didn't really put ,much effort into trying, but that wasn't the point. He wasn't sure why he was reacting so much to this... sure, Tony's panicked eyes all but dragged you in, even if he seemed to be trying to hide the fear from him and Bruce now that he was breathing again, but that was no reason for Steve to be having a stroke over it.

Actually, if Steve hadn't happened to look away from the blocky figures on his screen over to the other man, it was all too likely that none of them would have even noticed it.

Something about his posture screamed that something was wrong and Steve had called over to make sure everything was alright... he was sure the man was tired, he hadn't stopped to sleep for days and Steve was starting to get a little worried.

But when Tony hadn't so much as reacted to his voice, Bruce had sprinted over to the scientist and before he noticed, he was running halfway across the room as well. He couldn't remember ever being so panicked. Which was, of course, ridiculous. Even if Tony hadn't been all but proved to be unkillable, he shouldn't have been so worked up about him, even if he was a teammate.

He couldn't be sure at what point he'd started considering the other man impossible to kill, sometime between plummeting from space only to snap away, thinking of nothing but food, or when he hadn't been murdered by Fury the other day like Steve was sure he would have been, but the thought that maybe he wasn't... that was too frightening Which, again, was ridiculous.

Last week he could barely stand the man and was only now starting to think that they could become friends... he had no right to be so invested. He couldn't help it, but it didn't make him feel any better about it.

Oddly, Bruce couldn't seem to notice the panic still in the mans eyes, as clear as it was. He frowned. Maybe the man was a little hard to read, but as long as you read the eyes... maybe Bruce just wasn't used having to read people like that. But, again, his face was completely relaxed, calm, posture relaxed, so it wasn't likely that the other man wasn't trying to look past that.

It was only when he felt a gentle pressure pressing back against his hand and he realized that he was clutching the mans shoulder, and how hard... he was probably leaving bruises, but it was helping with his heart-rate, and Tony certainly didn't seem to mind. Actually, based on the way Tony's pulse was slowly slowing, it was helping him too. Still, he forced his grip to loosen... he'd hate to hurt the guy, after all. It would be all too easy, Tony didn't have any super-powers that would prevent it, just his mind.

Bruce turned away and made his way to the shop door while Tony stood carefully. Steve refused to remove his hand. Oh, right. Pizza. Well, pizza was actually sounding like a good idea... it would get them out of the shop, for one, meaning it would get Tony to stop working and maybe relax a little. He was probably just over-worked.

But if he said it was alright, well, they were a team, and Steve needed to trust him. He didn't like it, but Tony was smart enough to know if it was something really dangerous and life-threatening, he would have to let the team know. Well, he hoped that Tony understood that, at least. He might have to talk to him about it, actually... but later. When they weren't so worked up about it. Then again, that might make him come off as preachy. And Stark was the kind of stubborn that as soon as they were told not to do something, it was a safe bet to guess that's exactly what they would do, first chance they got.

Not that he was different, really... but at least he knew it. He doubted the other man put much effort into thinking about it.

They made their way up the stairs quickly, Tony's stride not so much as wavering even with Steve still clutching his shoulder. He was calm, relaxed... Steve could see why he was so good with reporters. It was almost enough for him to wish that he had the ability to act so well... it would have made life so much easier back when he'd first become Captain America and was completely useless.

At the time, that part of his life had seemed almost unbearable, but looking back at it, now... it felt comforting, somehow. He'd always had friends at his side, even if he couldn't remember their names, now. All he knew was that, back then, it was effortless to be around them. He frowned. He wasn't the type to just forget something like a friends name... but again, it hadn't been a great part of his life. He couldn't really blame himself for repressing it. He hoped that his friends back in the show went on to have good lives. Even if he could remember who they were, now, they were probably all long dead, of old age or something else.

He forced himself not to think about it before he could feel the twinge of pain that was certain to come, and concentrated on the steps in front of him and stepped out into the kitchen behind the rest of the team.

Coulson looked up from where he was sitting at the table with Natasha and gave Steve and Tony a strange look before shrugging it off and going back to his coffee.

"Anything I should know, yet?" despite not looking at them, it was obvious who his question was aimed at, seeing that Tony let out a quick laugh.

"Na, we just came to grab some pizza... I guess you could join us, you know, if you're not too busy doing a crossword or something." A hint of a smile threatened the agents face, and Steve could feel Tony relax under his fingers.

"It's Sudoku, actually. And I just finished... I am supposed to keep an eye on you lot, so I don't see why I can't take a little time to grab some pizza. Let's not take too long, I have some paperwork back in my room I want to get done..." Natasha raised an eyebrow at the man.

"Oh, please. You've been complaining non-stop that there's no food in this house since you got here. And you haven't done anything that would need paperwork completed lately. Let's just go eat. Honestly, you're worse than Stark..." Tony frowned at her.

"Hey, I resent that." she smirked back.

"What, mad that I made him worse or just that I compared you at all?" The man shrugged one shoulder.

"Well, he couldn't be worse, I'm the best at being me, I obviously would win at being worse at accepting things. Clearly." Steve could almost see the amusement sparkling just under the surface of his eyes and smiled. Maybe Stark was a little bit more self aware than anyone gave him credit for being. And if he was joking, then whatever that was back in the lab wasn't very serious, after all. He let his hand slowly slip away from the other mans shoulder, and smiled lightly down at him when Tony turned with a confused look on his face. Tony opened his mouth to say something else, but Jarvis cut him off.

"Sir, I think there's something you all should see, if you'd please return to the lab... Agent Coulson will be needed as well." they all froze for a quarter of a second before darting back for the stairs, Coulson somehow managing to be the first one down them. They all froze in front of the large projector screen to just stare. Well, pizza was going to have to wait. It felt like it was about to be a very long night.

* * *

**Ahhh, the hectic one night chapters that I can't figure out what are actually going to be about. Always fun stuff. Hope you guys enjoy, and thank you all for reviews, follows and favorites. **

** And at last, more plot development. Didn't see that coming when I started to write this, but hopefully it will make me be more willing to write next chapter before the night before I post. Also, just to clarify, not sure why I want to, but J's calling them back has nothing to do with Tony's panic attack. **


	11. Affix

** Ok, this week, I'm starting off writing with my schedule instead of ignoring it... what should help, at this way I won't have to rush it like last week. Thank you to everyone reading and reviewing, all that. Enjoy.**

** Again, just want to say sorry for not uploading last chapter sooner... shit. Actually, I probably wouldn't have noticed if I hadn't been procrastinating on writing this chapter, and decided to check my stats on the story for some obsessive reason I really don't feel like getting into. That would have been awkward. I feel like such a jackass for doing that.**

_"The floors are falling out from everybody I know" _Bloodbuzz Ohio~ The National

* * *

It took about half a second for Thor's eye to start twitching at the figure presented on the screen, and Steve was pretty sure that they were all worried it was somehow Loki-oriented. Surprisingly enough, it really wasn't. Still, a huge man hovering over a body with a blood covered double-headed battle-ax wasn't much of a step up. And better yet, Amora seemed to be bottling the blood as it dripped towards the ground.

Steve glanced around to gauge the others reactions... Bruce was the only one that looked even slightly sickened. Thor looked like he was about to go into a rage, and the two assassins and Coulson looked resigned. Steve couldn't even begin to read through the blank mask Tony had adopted. Even his normally fiery eyes seemed to shut out the light from getting in, the spark in them seeming to die to the bitterest ember. Steve frowned. Someone so animated shouldn't be allowed to just... shut everything out like that. It was more than a little worrisome.

Then again, they had much bigger problems. He turned his attention back to Agent Coulson.

"So. Still think that Fury was right not to go on the offensive?" He knew he was being harsh, and probably not to the right person, but he couldn't help it. At least he kind of deserved it.

Coulson flushed slightly, and tried to glare back up at him, but it really just turned into him squinting in his direction. "That's not the important thing here... you were _tracking her?!_ You all had express orders against doing exactly that! Stark, I know for a fact that you understood that... you understand why you were to follow those orders to the letter." Tony's blank expression didn't fade, and his tone was just as blank, giving it chilling sound, colder than Steve could remember hearing.

"I don't do orders well, especially not to make some idiots that can't see what's right in front of their noses happy. I was an idiot for doing as little as I did... I should have done more than track her." Coulson looked over to Clint and Natasha for some kind of support, but they just met his gaze as one defensively. The Agent frowned at them, but turned away from them again back to the billionaire.

"It's a damn good thing you didn't. We didn't know, and now we have a reason to go after her..."

Something in Tony's eyes snapped, and they filled with molten fury, freezing the other man where he was. Bruce walked to the farthest corner of the room and sat down, falling into one of his meditative breathing exercises he's shown to Steve earlier. It was probably a good idea... they might need the Hulk... but they didn't need him tearing apart their home in a rage. Better hold that for better use.

"Exactly. You assholes are so damn caught up in being _spies_ that not only will you not look into a very real threat, you don't allow your _response team _do it for you. And now a man is dead. Because we actually listened to you. I will not take credit for this... that mans blood is on Shield's hands this time. Not mine." Coulson's eyes widened in shock, and Thor stepped up behind Tony, as if to back him up, and Steve felt himself gravitating over to the man as well. He felt a little bad for Coulson, but not enough to outweigh the truth. Shield had messed up, and they didn't even seem to care. He could almost feel the anger radiating off of Tony like a furnace. Thor said nothing, but his eyes screamed murder. "And without us watching, they could have had more time, without Shield figuring out how to respond. So you know what? I'll do you a favor, and do that for you too. Avengers, suit up."

There was a heavy sigh from Steve's side. "I am afraid it is too late for that, my friend. Watch." they all spun back to the screen... the large man had lifted his ax and... managed to split the air. Steve shivered... it was almost like when he had first found the Tesseract... and it had torn Schmidt out of existence. Nothing about this could be good.

They all stared wide eyed at the image of the two disappearing through the hole as it stitched itself back together and vanished, leaving the body alone in the dark field.

Steve felt the words slip from his mouth before he realized he'd formed them. "...What the hell?" Tony looked at him with an eyebrow raised, but didn't comment as Thor shook his head.

"Skurge the Executioner. His ax allows him to travel across dimensions, much as the rainbow bridge once did. They are gone, for now... though, I expect they shall return, else they would have waited with the poor mans corpse to cause trouble in this realm had they not intended to. The fault here is mine, my friends and I apologize for that... I should have expected him. He is never far from Amora, and will do anything she asks of him." He moved his gaze from the screen, looking back and forth between Steve and Tony. " when next we see them, we must move swiftly. All of this smells of the dark magic and she must not be permitted to finish her gathering."

Steve sighed and rubbed his eyes with one hand tiredly. " Well, now we know. That's all that matters here." Tony's sigh echoed his.

"Yeah, except now we have to figure out how to deal with two Gods instead of just the one.. and this one doesn't seem to dabble in fairy dust... I think I would have preferred another magician." Thor frowned.

Skurge is not a God, Anthony." All eyes snapped to Thor and the God stepped back a pace.

"What?" Natasha's voice was calm, too calm by half, after just seeing that. It shouldn't have registered, she was always calm, but it was still strangely unnerving.

Thor looked slightly abashed. "Skurge is not a God... I suppose it is the reason I had doubts that he would be here... if Loki is using the pair, as I suspect, then he has every right not to want anywhere near the Executioner..."

Clint muttered loudly to no one in particular "Am I the only one a little worried that his title is 'The Executioner?'" they all ignored him, Thor not even missing a beat.

"For despite being one of them, last I had heard, he has no love for the Frost Giants." Coulson seemed to pale.

"That was a Frost Giant..? I expected them to be a bit more, well, giant." Thor shook his head again.

"He is a half-breed, but that does not mean he has lost their ferocity. It is in his blood, and Amora has harnessed him as she does anyone else."

"Seriously, no one? And who would name their kid 'Skurge' and not expect him to turn evil?"

"And she does that, how? Oh, wait, let me guess. Enchantress. They fall in love with her, right?

"That is the correct conclusion, Anthony. She has always had... skills about her, and she was unashamed to use her body to manipulate others."

Tony rolled his eyes. "Wow, sounds like a stand-up girl." If the sarcasm hadn't practically been dripping from his words, Steve would have felt insulted... they were enemies, of course, that was the only reason.

"He probably got that title just to get the other half-frosties to stop picking on him..." Clint bit of in an exclamation of pain as Natasha turned and hit him in his short-ribs. He let out a wheezing cough and glared at her sweet smile.

"Enough commentary, let's play the listening game now." Steve wasn't sure if he'd ever been scared of a woman more than when he was around her. He didn't think so, not in this way, at least. With Peggy, it had always been more nervous than scared, though he imagined them both to be equally deadly, in their own ways. He jerked away from that thought and mentally locked it away, praying that he never thought it again. The thoughts made him feel sick in a way he hadn't since childhood, back before he'd figured out he wasn't interested in women.

Or at least, that's what he'd believed most of his life, until Peggy had forced her way in. back then, it had all been moving too fast, and he never had a chance to think about what that meant for him, or when he did have the free time, for some reason his mind had always been elsewhere. His mind felt fuzzy again, so he pushed his attention back to the group. They were all silent now, Clint and Natasha looked like they were having a conversation with their eyes, Bruce was still in his corner, breathing slowly, Coulson was dialing a number that was sure to be Fury's, Thor staring at the screen, as if hoping they would show back up so he could go teach them a lesson, and Tony's mind seemed to be completely focused inward.

Steve shook himself off. "We need to come up with a battle plan, prepare for them, anything. We're going to need to be ready to go at a moments notice." Thor and Tony looked over to him, and he felt the attention of the two assassins shift to focus on him, even hi their eyes remained locked to the others. Coulson nodded to them as he put the phone to his ear and walked a short distance away from them. "We have the time now, we need to use it. Stark, any chance that T'Challa has anything else hidden up his sleeve for us?" the other man shook his head instantly.

"No luck, Cap. You heard him, they don't get involved in the outside relations of the world unless it forces it's way into Wakanda. We're lucky I managed to convince him to help just tracking her in the first place." Steve sighed. Too bad... they could use the back-up of the nation, especially if they were in any sort of trouble with Shield.

"That's fine, we can handle ourselves. Thor. Any idea's on when they'll be back?" The God shrugged sadly.

"If the trace has not picked up their signature by now, I am to assume that they are no longer in this realm. The Executioners powers are great... but they are slow to heal themselves. The farther they have fled, the longer the rift-wound will take to heal before it can again be accessed, and given that they are out of Midgard... I estimate somewhere between 25 and 83 hours, minimum. But again, they may not come back to Midgard, not so soon."

Steve shook his head. "Well, we have time, then. Not much, maybe, or too much... still. No reason to waste it."

Tony sighed and rolled his eyes. " Well, that really just means work for me, you know." Steve gave him a confused glance. " Means I have to build a suit capable of withstanding giganto there and build you guys better weapons... unless Shield wants to step up and try their hand at it..." Coulson glared in his direction, but didn't stop whispering into his phone. "Yeah, didn't think so."

Steve frowned thoughtfully... he really hadn't considered that... because, really, there wasn't much that the rest of the team could do while the enemy was on a different planet. Sure, they could come up with some sort of capture plan, but Shield would really be responsible for holding them, unless Thor took them back with him to Asgard. That wouldn't take long... they could train, but then, they already did that anyway.

No, the more he thought about it, the more it came down to Tech work, which naturally landed on Tony. That seemed a bit unfair... but from what he'd heard and seen, the man was the best at what he did, and that so something they desperately needed in this fight. He winced.

He felt a hand rest on his shoulder and he jerked his head up to meet Tony's eyes and smirk.

"Relax, Cap. Just giving you shit... you know I don't sleep, anyway."

_'I know...that's what bothers me.'_ instead of saying what raced through his mind, he just nodded to the other man. It didn't make him feel any better about it, but if anyone could prepare them, it was Stark. But the other man was walking away, back across the shop again. Bruce finally stood and left without a word... the doctor probably needed sleep. Or, at the very least, to be away from the stress that now hung heavy in the shop.

"Ok, J, keep a broad scan up 24/7 for either of them, got it? I want to know the second these morons are back."

"Oh course, Sir."

"And the rest of you, you might as well go grab some sleep while we have time to. You never know how long you'll have to go without when we get a hold of those two." Clint and Natasha both nodded, the former covering a yawn as he left. Coulson nodded into his phone with a few more quick words, then hung up, turning to Tony.

"You're in the clear... for now, Stark. Fury isn't happy, and would be in a worse mood if I had told him about your 'friend.' but he agreed to wait until this threat is past to reprimand you." Tony just rolled his eyes at the Agent as he left on the heels of the assassins. Steve couldn't help a flash of annoyance. Fury really had no right to be mad at any of them... they were just doing their job. Sure, was it not the way he would have done it? Probably, but as Tony had pointed out earlier, his way had gotten someone killed for no reason. If anything, Fury should have been worried about pissing them off more.

Steve almost wished Colonel Phillips was still alive and in charge... ok, so they might not have gotten along very well, but the man could at least let things go when he'd been proven wrong, even if the one to do it had gone against his orders. Fury was just too bent on trying to control them instead of what he should have been focused on... doing what was right. He was technically their boss, and Steve was no stranger to following his superiors, but he'd never had to deal with his superiors not trusting him and his instincts... it wasn't pleasant.

His face must have been as easy to read as an open book, because Tony snorted from across the room. "So, finally saw it, did you?" He sent a confused glance to the other man. Tony gestured around the room with a screwdriver. "That Fury's a spy." Steve's frown deepened.

"We kind of already knew that... it is all but his job title." Tony shrugged.

"Well you knew, sure, but you didn't understand. This isn't like the Army, you know. We aren't Soldier to him. We're tools he thinks he has a right to."

He glanced at the table. "I'm not so sure... if we were just tools, why is he so obsessed with keeping tabs on us all the time?" that earned another snort of unamused laughter from the man.

"Because he sees us as more of a double edged sword..." Steve's brows drew together in confusion, and Tony took it as a hint to continue. "Without a very firm hand, we're just as likely to turn on him and Shield as we are to fight the enemy."

Steve shook his head. "That doesn't... can't he see that we're just trying to help?" Tony shrugged.

"Some people only see what they want to." Steve shifted. That was sadly accurate, though he hated to admit it. "And right now, what Shield wants to see is that we could potentially become a threat to him if he isn't careful... or, I guess, the Counsel sees that, and he's just pissy at us for them seeing him the same way."

"Wait, what Counsel?" Tony paused from what he was doing and winced.

"Shit, I never got around to telling you about that, did I? Well, guess it really doesn't matter too much now."

"But it might. Tony, I am the leader, here. I need to know." Tony held up his hands.

"Ok, first of all, in my defense, Fury did order me to keep this to myself." Steve fought back a smile.

"Right, like that's ever mattered to you." The corner of the other mans mouth tugged up into a smirk.

"Touche. Well, basically, it all falls down to Fury's in hot water for disobeying his 'sort of' bosses about that missile, even if they got their way, in the end." '_yeah, and you almost died?'_ Steve shivered lightly, but nodded for the other to continue. " Really, he agreed that we needed to take action, but for long boring businessy reasons, he agreed with them. I was supposed to convince you guys that it was a good idea to just sit back. Oops, must have slipped my mind." Steve couldn't resist smiling, n o matter how troubling it was. Fury should know by now that you didn't just manipulate Tony... couldn't might have been fairer, but either way it was an equally bad idea. He'd known the man maybe two weeks, and he understood that... the man was just either too stubborn or too brilliant not to be able to see through it. Good thing he wasn't the enemy... that would make everything much more difficult. Impossible? Maybe not, but as close to it as possible.

Again, that could be said about almost anyone on the team, but if they didn't have him specifically, then they didn't have air support, the worlds best weapons and Tech or useful insight that the others didn't have time to notice. And he doubted that they would have been able to handle the missile without him. It was worrisome that he was also the most vulnerable one of them.

"So, heading to bed, Cap?" Tony wasn't looking at him any more, but Steve shook his head anyway.

"Don't feel much like sleeping right now... mind if I stay down here?" Tony raised an eyebrow in his direction. He shrugged self-consciously. "With the others sleeping, the rest of the Tower just feels..." lonely. "Empty." From the way Tony's hands paused, hovering above the metal for a split second, Steve was pretty sure that he saw right through his word choice. The other man shrugged.

"If you want to, I don't mind. You're the least obstructive of those mongrels that call themselves our team." Steve felt a smile creep onto his face again and let himself laugh lightly.

For some reason, that made Tony's face light up. Something in him relaxed, and he found himself being completely content. It was surprising to realize how much he'd been longing for the past until he stopped caring so much about it. Thinking about it, it had always been a difficult life, and his closest friend had died. Not many people got a chance to-for the most part- start their lives over like this. He had an amazing place to live, a job doing what he'd always wanted to do-kind of- and friends whose hands he could and did literally put his life into. As messed up as everything was, that was worth something. He smiled and went over to the couch and started a movie while Tony bent over his work desk again, sure that if the man needed him to do anything, he'd know it. Maybe after the movie he could go and get them both some food. The other man would complain and protest, but it would make Steve feel a little better about forcing him to do almost all of the work for the team.

* * *

**So, this is up later in the day than I'd expected and again on the shorter side, but I'm pretty ok with that, this time. I considered not posting it this week, since last week I messed up, and there was just one yesterday, but that seemed a bit mean for me to do, so hope you guys enjoy. **


	12. Parallel

** Ok, next chapter. Hope you all enjoyed last weeks and enjoy this one as well. Really don't have a lot to say right now, given it's the middle of the night and I just need to get a bit of writing done before I'll be able to sleep, so on with the story. **

** Just a little note, since I mention it in this chapter, Tony Stark has been noted in his comics to own Area 51. so, you know. Not just pulling that out of my ass, or anything. Also, not saying if I'm on Clint or Tony's side for that one. Read on, you'll understand. Split PoV, heads up. **

_"__You hate your pulse because it thinks you're still alive." Fun~Carry On_

* * *

"A panic attack? You can't possibly be serious." Tony glared around the room as if it were personally responsible for Jarvis's diagnoses.

"Unfortunately, Sir, all signs at the time of the attack point that way."

"But... I'm me. I don't, you know, get panicky. Ever. Jut not who I am... Shit, I've been through a ton, and I've never had an attack like that. What the hell could possible have caused one now?" Tony didn't like it, but if that's what the AI had decided happened, he was inclined to believe him. Best to just accept it had happened, and move on to make sure it didn't happen again.

"...Sir, it has only been roughly two weeks since the Incident. Perhaps it is just now catching up with you."

Tony rolled his eyes. Sure, for the rest of the world, maybe it had only been two weeks. For him? Months had passed, and he'd been fine. He still hadn't gotten around to figuring out the proper wording to inform Jarvis of that. He wanted to, really, he just had to find proof for the AI to believe it wasn't just some drunken hallucination. And here he'd always thought he was good at talking to robots...

Maybe he'd have more time after the present threat was taken care of. Or maybe just when he got a chance to actively think about it. It was kind of hard to concentrate on anything other than new suit designs and Steve, especially when the man would insist on sitting right next to him while he worked... not to mention the others who rarely left his shop, as of late. this was a rare time where they had all decided to go sleep in actual beds at the same time. It was distracting, to say the least. It had been far too long since he'd gotten laid to be expected to have this kind of patience, dammit.

And he partially had himself to blame, there... he hadn't been comfortable with bringing anyone home- much less to bed- with him since he'd gotten the reactor. And after the whole Obi thing? Fuck, it had taken him months for him to be ok with even Rhodey or Pepper _seeing _it.

But Steve was Steve, if there was one thing in the world he could believe in, it was that Captain America wouldn't do a damn thing to it. Even thinking about sleeping with anyone else since he'd been back was almost enough to make him sick, which of course was ridiculous, given that he'd never been with the man in the first place? So, instead, he let Steve sit too close to him. He let him lean over him when he explained the components of a project that Steve would never really understand yet still seemed fascinated by. He let himself be tortured by the insanity of it all.

He shook his head and turned back to his latest project since the others had decided to go nap upstairs... he'd have preferred not to be working on anything other than his suits, at the moment, but that choice was taken away from him at the moment, seeing as a particularly troublesome cooling system for one of the Jets he was in the process of designing for Shield decided that the rotary blades didn't want to work. His mind guilted him into taking a look at it even as he completed his newest design, mark 39... or, Gemini, as he had already named it in his mind.

He didn't know what had taken him so long to do a full Deep Space set of armour, especially after what had happened in the last battle, but it would be good to have one for said purpose. Sure, he'd refitted all of them to survive a short amount of time in those conditions almost immediately after, but he still felt better knowing Gemini was there... or, would be. Once he got this damn thing to work again, and was able to get back to the design.

He stared into the back of the machine, past the blades for a few minutes, trying to figure out what had shorted out before he found what he was looking for. Damn, he wouldn't be able to get it from the back end of the system.

He edged himself carefully into the machine, skillfully avoiding the jammed blades of the rotor, and delicately began fiddling with the gauges inside...which was when the blade decided that it was ready to start spinning again, naturally. Really, in hind-sight, he should have seen this coming.

The first rotation started up slower than it should have, but the decreased motion was really the only reason he was able to pull himself out of the mass of metal with only a single long, deep cut in his side as opposed to being ripped to bits.

He grunted low, irritation mixed with the stinging pain blooming from the gash as he fingered his side, then stared at the deep red spreading down his hand. Well, fuck, that was inconvenient. Hardly the end of the world, though. A few bandages, good as new.

But it wasn't like he had ever been one to catch a break.

No sooner had he taken a step towards the cabinet that held a small first aid kit than an alarm Jarvis had rigged for the Avengers went off, singing shrilly through the echoing building and Steve burst into his lab, frantically gesturing for him to hurry and suit up. Really, Amora? _Now_ you feel like coming back? Just fucking great.

He quickly pulled his hand away from his side and angled his injured side away from the Captain as he changed his course to his suits stand, thanking his luck that he was wearing a black shirt today and that from a distance the blood coating his hand probably just looked like motor oil... If the alarm was going off, that meant it was bad. Bad meant that they were all needed, and Steve would hardly let him go into a fight already bleeding.

He felt Jarvis form Heartbreaker around him, not saying anything about the blood he had undoubtedly noticed... If Jarvis didn't say anything, it probably wasn't too severe. When he turned back, Steve was still standing there, waiting. Tony almost rolled his eyes.

"You do know that I can fly, don't you?" It was hard to tell, but it looked like Steve blushed under his hood, and he nodded. But he didn't leave... "J, where are we going?"

The AI paused momentarily, as if debating whether he wanted to say it specifically to him through the Iron Man suit or through the intercom. He decided on the latter.

"It seems they have made landfall in Nevada, sir." He perked up slightly.

"Ohhhh... where? Vegas? Reno? I could go for some night city fun..." Maybe this would finish up quickly and he could get the team to have a good night on the town...

"Actually, Sir, it's in an isolated salt flat... by Groom Lake." he winced, visibly, even through the suit, he could tell. Steve looked confused.

"Fucking great. Area 51, huh?" Steve frowned, and there was a snort from the stairs as Clint made his way down them.

"Right, as if we're getting in that place. I'd make a reference of what it's locked up tighter than, but that's pretty much the thing it would be locked as tight as." Tony rolled his eyes under his mask. "I mean, really. What does she want, a pickled alien head or something?"

"Wait... what?" Steve looked truly confused.

Tony shook his head. "Don't try to freak the Cap out, jackass. There are no aliens there. You should know better than to buy into that kind of nonsense." Hawkeye crossed his arms and glared at the suit.

"Right... because the government doesn't keep secrets. Please, _you _should know better. Besides, what makes you so damn sure they aren't hiding shit? Maybe I'll ask Fury, he'd know. He'd tell me... Fury _loves _me."

"_Right_, I'm sure he does. FYI, I own Area 51." Clint stopped in his tracks, and stared wide eyed at him, shifting the quiver on his back unconsciously.

"Wait, you're serious!? OOHHHHH! Can I get a tour or something! I want in!" Tony frowned.

"Can we talk about this some other time? We kind of have somewhere to be..." Steve winced and finally turned.

"Come on, Clint. We'll need to wait for Shield to give us a lift. Iron Man, you and Thor are flying ahead, keep the situation under control." Clint pouted, but didn't hesitate to turn and sprint back up the stairs. Steve turned to join him, but Tony's metal covered hand caught him before he could actually move.

"Here, I'll give you a lift." He absolutely was not in any way blushing under his helmet. This was a completely idiotic idea, and he knew it... so what didn't he have the heart to stop himself? It was too early to blame blood loss... He forced himself to keep talking. "I think that you'd be a much greater asset actually on the field instead of stuck on a Shield Jet miles out." He wouldn't have been able to do this in front of the others, he knew that perfectly well. He'd never been one to admit to wanting help with anything. But this was Steve.

Steve's eyes widened slightly at him. He obviously wasn't expecting it either... Tony didn't blame him. He wasn't exactly the easiest person to work with in their most recent fight with one another, after all.

Steve's surprise didn't last long. He nodded and stepped up into Tony's space, where he allowed the metal clad arms to wrap around him, and took off. Damn good thing he'd had the fore-sight to enable him to take off from the lab, or this would have taken much longer than it should have.

Thor was hovering above the building for them... well, him. The demigod seemed a bit surprised to see Cap catching a ride. He didn't hesitate to follow Tony as Jarvis set a course to their destination. They better get there in time... Really, who would decide to go to Nevada? And for something other than gambling and partying... nonsense.

Of course, it was one of his few favorite places, naturally... just, not in the middle of the desert, with literally nothing but dirt, brush and dry heat for countless miles. That part really just brought back bad memories he'd much rather forget about.

Something he was grateful for, as he was sure Steve was, to a lesser extent, was that Heartbreaker was chosen for him this time, instead of something smoother, such as his mark 7. Steve actually had something to grab onto as they flew. He hadn't really paused to think that they would be going pretty fast...hopefully Steve would be alright.

**S**

Steve had a death grip he was sure was going to end up denting the stunning armour he was clinging to. He didn't dare to open his eyes, and his jaw was starting to hurt from clenching his teeth together, but he refused to say anything. The air was sharply pleasant, if extremely cold, but just from the sheen of it as Tony in his suit cut his way through it, he could tell they were going fast. Faster than he cared to be going, especially when he was in the air, with no protection between himself and the ground other than his teammates steady hold on him and the shield strapped to his back.

Under normal circumstances, Steve was almost positive that he'd enjoy flying like this. Tony was... difficult to control, to say the least, but he could admit he trusted the man enough not to drop him. These were not the circumstances he was talking about, unfortunately.

When Tony had made him the offer to "give him a lift," he might have been talked into it far too easily. Oh well, he was willing to be scared out of his mind if it got them to their battle faster... the sooner the Enchantress and her giant pal were locked up, the better. It wouldn't hurt Tony to slow down, though, would it?

He shook off the thought, and concentrated on the mission... on their destination. He could remember, vaguely, the area they were talking about. He'd never been there, of course, but Howard had spoken to him at one point about some kind of airbase out there, and his mind never felt it necessary to get rid of the information.

He wanted to get in contact with the others, give them instruction, anything, but the wind made that impossible. The rest of them would probably get angry with him if he tried, and they got an earful of wind-resistance. It wouldn't affect them on the field, but he did have to live with them. And it was impossible to avoid not one, but two trained assassins and spies as well as a genius with a house that could literally tell him where he was 24/7... that last one should have bothered him. He really couldn't find it in himself to mind.

So, instead of doing it himself, he listened as Tony relayed information to the team, and trusted him when he said he'd gotten them cleared for being in the airspace with the people there, even if he complained the entire tome about how far out they were. Steve could only smile at that. He would have been doing the same, he was sure, if he could open his mouth long enough. It felt like the damn wind was trying to choke him any time he did, though. If this was going to become a normal thing, he might have to have Tony make some upgrades to his mask, or something. If not, he might have to stick to relying on Shield for a ride, like the others from now on.

He just took a moment to thank God, as they finally slowed down as his muscles started to cramp, that he had never been afraid of heights. Because as the wind cut down significantly, and he could actually comprehend the heat as it radiated off of the metal under him, slowly warming him, he opened his eyes. And looked down.

He quickly snapped his eyes back shut, and breathed. The air burned his lungs. The ground looked scorched, for miles, any way he looked, heat that was radiating out of the ground visible even at this distance. He could only vaguely make out a mountain range under them as they flew over it, it was the same colour, the same texture as the ground. He'd never seen so much brown... even the greens he'd been able to make out seemed dulled into that category.

It didn't take much longer as Tony started to descend, that he wished the man would go faster again... the cold, at least, he could handle. But this dry heat? He couldn't even sweat without it evaporating too quickly for it to cool him off any. Yeah, they should get this over with quickly... he'd hate to come all this time and way just to fall to the sun.

The only good thing he could say about it all was that, even if Tony's suit was metal, it didn't give off heat like he'd have expected it to. It grew warm, naturally, but it was significantly cooler then the air itself.

He forced his eyes open again, and let them scan the ground... there. There were two people, one scantly clan, the others in heavy furs. He couldn't help but feel pity for the Executioner. Even Thor was seeming to droop a bit in the heat.

The landed in a storm of dust Tony's repulsor boots kicked up and didn't waste any time waiting for it to clear before charging at them. It was Tony and Thor's job to take them out if they could, keep them there and distracted if they couldn't. He was really just there to call the shots and keep them off of the flyers if it looked like they needed it. He was happy to let those two directly deal with them... he could take punishment, but not as well as they could. He had a feeling that when the assassins got there, they'd decide on the same tactic.

Their luck wasn't in.

They quickly cleared the dust cloud, now made more extensive from the power of Thor's landing, but it was only to watch Amora winking at them as they disappeared through another of the portals, the massive ax Skurge carried still in his grasp as if he'd _cut_ the portal out of thin air. It certainly matched up with what Thor had told them about the man.

Steve could only see a mass of snow on the other end of the portal before his line of sight was blocked by what he could only assume to be Frost Giants... Massive blue humanoids that snarled at the sky as soon as they set foot in the desert.

The two fell quickly to the blasts of Tony's suit as well as lightning. Steve didn't even have time to pull his shield from where it was strapped to his back before they had fallen, their armor melting off of them and soaking into the ground. But by the time they were down, they had done their jobs: Amora and Skurge had vanished again into the cold. Thor growled and threw one last bolt of lightning into the dying giant in rage.

"Cowards, always running..." Steve had to agree. Hopefully they hadn't been able to get whatever it was they came for. He didn't have much faith that they didn't though. Even with Thor and Iron Man's speed, they had simply been too far away. And watched the bodies as Tony went over to investigate where the portal had been minutes before. Even through the suit, the man looked exhausted.

Steve looked around for the compound they had been discussing before they had left, but wouldn't see anything for miles. This was really the middle of nowhere... if there was anything worth hiding, this would be a good place to have it. Not a big chance of anyone just stumbling across it by accident. And the way Clint went on about it, it sounded like they did have something to hide... Then again, it was Tony. We wasn't the type of person to just lie to anyone, especially his team.

He was more of a say whatever and not care how others would respond type of person. Which, admittedly made him that much easier to work with, even if it was irritating at times.

They waited and inspected the area for maybe two minutes before a massive black jet came out of nowhere wand was landing at their side... at first, Steve figured it was Shield, but the people who filed out of it were not Shield agents... they paid the Heroes no mind, and started to load the corpses into a net hanging under the carrier, while the one who seemed to be the leader strode over to Tony. There was something decidedly military about them, in their swift, no nonsense movements that had Steve feeling at home. Uncomfortable, maybe, but still at ease.

He and Tony exchanged quick, hushed words before the nodded sharply and walked back over to help his team load the giants. They just finished dragging the second body into the net when the Shield jet landed by their side. Bruce was still in his human form, so thankfully they didn't have to deal with the Hulk, and Natasha made sure that Clint didn't say a word to the officials that were now packing themselves back into the jet, even if she couldn't stop him from glaring at them.

There was a metallic laugh off to his side as the rest of the group gathered together, already figuring out what had happened without having to be told.

"Well, I guess now Area 51 is everything people would expect... aliens and everything!" Clint just rolled his eyes at Iron Man.

"Right. Because there totally weren't any before."

"Of course not. That would just be silly." Clint's eyes gained a begging nature as the other jet took off and disappeared into nothing.

"Seriously, you would tell me if there were... right?" Tony just laughed again and nodded, and Clint relaxed. That was one thing about people who were so straightforward... you could trust them to tell the truth, no matter how uncomfortable it might be.

Steve shook his head.

"Alright, guys, nothing left to do here. We need to go brief Fury." they all winced. That wasn't going to be a fun conversation. Thor nodded and took off, and he expected Tony to follow. Instead the other man made his way with the rest of them over to the aircraft and took a seat in the bay as they took off as well, Clint complaining the whole while about not getting a look inside of the infamous Area 51... and blaming Tony, naturally. Steve almost missed the rush of the wind in the confines of the jet.

The flight back to the helicarrier only took about half an hour, and he was pretty sure that Tony fell asleep in his suit for most of it. When he went to shake him awake when they landed, the other man seemed a bit groggy. When Steve figured out why, he couldn't help but pale a bit before he got angry.

He stared sullenly at Tony for across the table in the conference room after the man had the suit stripped from him. "You really mean to tell me that you went into battle not only injured...But bleeding."

Tony forced his face into a nonchalant mask and forced his voice to take on a strain of indifference. "Pretty much, yeah." Steve shook his head.

"You realize you could have gotten one of us killed, right?"

"How, by bleeding on you? My blood isn't toxic, you know, nor is it made of bananas, so if you use the 'one of us might have slipped' excuse, it doesn't hold up very well."

Clint shook his head. "Damn, you've lost a lot of blood, haven't you? Cuz' you're pretty fucking out of it."

He shrugged. "At least now shit is more amusing." Steve felt some of the anger drain away, and he started to get worried again.

"Well, come on. Might as well have the medical staff patch you up before you actually do bleed out." Tony followed him silently. Steve worried more.

* * *

**Sorry for not really having much of a fight scene or anything. Those are the types of scene that needs to want to write them, and I really wasn't feeling it. **

** So, Nevada. Source: I live here. It's fucking hot as all hell, but everything usually too stubborn to burn, and when it does, it's dry enough that it burns fast. Of course, we have had a number of fires here over the past few weeks, but not as bad as some places.**

** But, really, it's a beautiful place. Only place I know that has 70 different shades of brown to it... I exaggerate, but not by much. Hope you guys enjoyed. **


	13. Assay

** Thank you to everyone who reviewed, read and enjoyed. Probably going to go back to doing a switch PoV thing for this story, but try to focus mainly around Steve( Just Tony midway through this time, then back.) Anyway, I really need to stop procrastinating on writing this every week... it's getting silly needing to rush every week. Anyway, hope you guys enjoy.**

"_I'm just the words, you are the sound, a strange type of chemistry"_ Be Somebody~ Thousand Foot Krutch

* * *

It was impossible... honestly. You'd think that in as huge a craft as the helicarrier, full of spies and fighters, that the medical staff would at least be easy to find when you needed them. Turned out, that wasn't the case, and Steve was starting to get pissed off about it. Tony was being too quiet as he hauled the other man through the corridors and he found he really didn't like it... silence from that man meant that something was wrong, and the people who could fix it kept eluding him. It was frustrating.

To be fair, he was pretty certain that he could just call for some, and the technicians that heard him would send some to him, but that almost felt like cheating, and he wasn't in the mood to lose twice in one day. If it came down to it and he had to, he would... but not until he had to. It would be a lot easier convincing himself that he didn't have to if him teammate wasn't still bleeding.

He had to wonder just how deep that cut ran. They had made it to Nevada and back, after all, and it was just now slowing down... but Tony had proven himself to be tough, so he really didn't have much to worry about.

After five minutes of aimless searching, he was almost prepared to give up. He had to imagine Tony was getting irritated, even if he wasn't saying anything about it... then, miraculously, he stumbled into the medical bay. Where absolutely none of the medical staff happened to be. Perfect.

Steve sighed and glanced around the empty room before turning to Tony. The mans eyes were closed, but he was at least standing steady on his own. He considered going off again to find the staff, but thought better of it after a few seconds, and went to grab one of the first aid kits in the cabinet, and directed Tony carefully to sit on one of the cots.

"Alright, shirt off." Tony smirked and let out a half hearted laugh, but did as he was directed quickly enough, wincing as he pulled the soaked cloth away from his skin. There were a few things Steve couldn't help but noticing straight away... most of the skin of his torso was all but dyed red. The second was that he was more muscular than Steve had expected, but he wasn't surprised, really. Third, up close, scars littered his body. Again, not that surprising, seeing as apparently he didn't care when he managed to slice himself open minutes before a fight.

The fourth was the glowing metal protruding from his chest... Steve jumped slightly, then blushed. Thankfully Tony's eyes were still closed, so he didn't notice. He had seen the reactor on Iron Man... he really had just figured it was part of the suit.

He must have paused for two long, because Tony's eye cracked open, and he smirked.

"If you're going to ask, you might as well." Steve shook his head, knowing that it was not a pleasant story, and he really wasn't up for it while he was trying to patch the man up.

"Later." Tony's smile widened, and he closed his eye again.

Steve dragged his eyes off of the circle, and over to the small box he'd pulled out, managing to find the disinfectant and cotton swabs, first off. He winced as he paused the liquid onto one of them, and didn't give Tony any warning before he pressed it to his side.

"Ow, mother fucker, what the hell?" It was Steve's turn to smirk, completely ignoring the language. Living with Tony and Clint, it wasn't as hard as it once would have been.

"That's what you get for doing something so stupid." He could almost feel the air thicken as Tony contemplated it. Steve just kept cleaning the wound. To the other mans credit, it was a clean cut, not nearly as bad as some of what he'd seen in the war.

"That's fair. I don't like it, but it's fair." Steve laughed lightly. He was having trouble figuring out why they hadn't gotten along in the first place. He set the bottle aside and threw the blood soaked cotton balls into the trash, and glared at the wound. It didn't look like it _needed_ stitches... which was good, he had no idea how he'd do with that. Tony's eyes opened and he looked down at the gash as well, mouth tightening.

"Don't worry, I heal up almost impossibly well. Just throw some bandages on it, it'll be fine." Steve frowned, but nodded as he grabbed the roll elastic wrap. He soaked another handful of cotton with an disinfectant and packed it against the battered skin, earning a yelp and glare from Tony before he wrapped it carefully in place.

For the amount of time it had taken to find the place, it had taken a stupidly short amount of time to actually patch the man up. He stared at his work and sighed. Tony gave him a confused glance. Steve winced.

"We have to go deal with Fury now." Tony looked like he wanted to wince as well, but managed to suppress it.

"Shit. You know he's going to be pissed that she got away again." Steve just nodded. "I vote we run." Steve rolled his eyes.

"Right, and make the others deal with him on their own? You really want to piss Natasha off? Or Bruce, for that matter." Tony looked like he was considering it, so Steve stood up, hiding a smile and tried to look commanding as he tossed the mans shirt back to him and washed the blood off of his hands. "Come on. Let's get it over with."

Tony limped to his feet and saluted mockingly before pulling the mess of a shirt back on. "Oh, Captain my Captain." Steve shook his head.

"One of these days, you guys will figure out your references are totally lost on me."Tony raised an eyebrow.

"Or we'll watch enough movies that you'll actually get them." He laughed and started to lead the other man back in the direction he hoped the conference room they used for meetings was. It seemed the blood loss had only now just caught up with Tony's ability to balance on his own so he was certainly not going to be much help getting back.

It turned out that the only time his sense of direction was impaired was when he was searching for any sort of help, seeing as they were back in the conference room before he could bring himself to think about where they were going. They managed to walk in on Fury looking quite disappointed at the

group gathered around the table.

"And you! You're fucking covered in metal, how in the hell is it that you were the one who managed to get hurt!?" Without having the context of the "And" didn't faze Tony at all. The man just shrugged as they lowered themselves into the hard chairs.

"Jet engine in the lab." Steve hid a smirk from the Director. It should have been illegal to sound so nonchalant about something like what had almost made him bleed out, but when Tony said it it was just natural. Fury rolled one eye, but was clearly too out of steam to lay into the either of them.

"Of course. Why you're on the team, I'm starting to question." The anger that filled the room was enough to shut down the rest of whatever Fury might have been able to say, and based on the identical glares they all gave the man, it wasn't just in his mind. "The rest of you can fill these two in, I have to go deal with a rather touchy group of people who don't actually understand the circumstances." Steve wasn't sure he'd even seen a man who was obviously fleeing a pissed off group of Heroes look like he wasn't doing anything of the sort, and just chose to leave while he was still in control of the situation.

Actually, the only one who didn't look like they wanted to murder the man as he walked away was Tony. He just looked bored.

After Nick left, they all just sat there for a few seconds, none of them wanting to move. Tony was the first one to break the momentary silence.

"So... who wants to go watch Jurassic Park?" Clint immediately grinned and nodded, sprinting off to hijack a plane for them to get back before the others stood.

Steve looked around as everyone else stood up and followed suit. "Anyone care to fill us in, then?" Natasha looked over at him.

"We let them escape, Fury gets it wasn't our fault, committee is pissed, Fury must therefore be pissed. That's pretty much the long and short of it." He nodded. Slightly less of a reason to be angry at Fury, that was good... it never paid to be mad at the commanding officer for too long. But really... the Avengers without Tony... just unthinkable, at this point. They certainly wouldn't have even been close to Amora today if it weren't for him.

He was hesitant when Tony went to put his suit back on to fly home, but the man just grinned.

"I'm all patched up now... besides, I'll just have J do all the work. Flying doesn't exactly take much effort." He was still hesitant, but it wasn't like he could tell the man what to do... well, he supposed he _could_, but it wasn't like he would listen to him. And Jarvis , he knew, would inform him if anything were to happen. Part of him decided he was too worried... he ignored that part. Of course he would be worried, he was a valuable member of the team, and was actually starting to be his friend. Even if it was his own fault that he was hurt...

As soon as he got in the plane Clint got his hands on, he was out. He wouldn't really call it sleeping... he was aware of everyone else around him and what happened- not that there was much- but time went much more quickly. He had a feeling Bruce was doing the same thing, given that as soon as they landed, both of them blinked themselves rapidly awake. They exchanged a look and made a silent agreement not to talk about it. He'd never hear the end of the "Old Man" jokes from Tony and he knew it. Bruce probably was just uncomfortable with being comfortable enough around people to nap.

One of the best things about living in the Tower: They could just land on the roof without having to worry about driving to get home. On the other hand, it didn't give them much of a chance to wake up fully. Tony was already back down in his lab again, suit put away as normal, working as if nothing he'd never left. Steve was a little disappointed... he'd been hoping naively that him almost bleeding out- ok, minor exaggeration - would have tired the man out. He should have known better. The old saying of "I'll sleep when I'm dead" might as well have been tailor made for him.

To his credit, as soon as the others came in, he dropped everything we was working with, and collapsed with when onto the couch as the movie started up in between Clint and Steve. Steve managed to stay awake just long enough to notice Tony falling asleep on his shoulder. He smiled and rested his head on his as the helicopters flew over the ocean and realized they'd just have to watch it another time.

* * *

**T**

Ok, so maybe going into the fight with half of his stomach trying to die wasn't the best idea he'd ever had... other than getting Steve's hands all over him, of course. It had made it more painful for a bit, but it numbed pretty quickly. And now, Steve was completely cool with him using his shoulder as a pillow while they ignored a great movie and nap. All in all, worth it.

Really, he didn't sleep. He listened to the movie and just relaxed... about ten minutes in, Jarvis turned the noise down almost to muted, so he must have been doing a pretty good job of faking it.

He finally opened his eyes when the ending credits rolled around, and looked around as gently as he could to keep Steve's head from moving too much. The man didn't stir... But Clint was staring at him. They just looked at one another for a few more seconds before Clint raised an eyebrow at him. He smirked, and shifted away from Steve before standing and stretching. Steve just adjusted himself and continued to sleep. He felt a little bad... Steve really should be getting more sleep. It wasn't natural to keep the hours Tony did, and Steve had been trying, it seemed.

He looked around at every one else... they were all out, too. He supposed he could have Jarvis play another movie... or...

"Want to get drunk?"

"Oh, Fuck yeah." because fuck it, might as well. Probably not the best thought process when it came to alcohol, but really, he'd been meaning to drink for a while, but there was constantly something else they might need to be doing later that would make being drunk just a hassle. At least it wasn't as sketchy to be drinking with someone else... not something he was used to, it was either a huge crowd he didn't want to be near or alone. The last time he'd gotten drunk with just one other person... not including Erskine, seeing as he was barely tipsy... was with Rhodey right before the whole Afghanistan thing.

Clint got up more quietly than Tony could manage, and they both snuck their way over to the fully stocked bar in the corner... completely a necessary addition to his shop, of course. He immediately went for a nice bottle of scotch as Clint pulled out two chilled glasses. They both paused.

"Should we be waking Thor up for this?" Tony glanced over his shoulder at the others.

"No... lets let them sleep. If we wake the big guy up, that will be impossible down here, and you know they'll be too stubborn to go somewhere quieter." Clint rolled his eyes.

"You calling anyone else stubborn just seems silly."

"Silly?" Clint shrugged.

"It's an underrated word." Tony laughed quietly.

"Tell me why I'm drinking with you, again?"

"Because it's more fun in a group?"

"Makes sense." He poured a finger into each glass and waited for Clint to try it. He looked surprised.

"Holy shit, that's good." He looked over at Tony, who raised an eyebrow. "That really shouldn't shock me, I guess." Tony smiled and filled the glasses. Clint sipped at it, enjoying it while Tony just downed half the glass. Clint's eyes widened and he almost choked on his drink, coughing before he could say anything.

"Hold fuck, that looked painful." Tony shrugged.

"Been drinking a a long time. Hasn't bothered me since I was 17." Clint just shook his head and muttered something into his glass. Tony decided he didn't want to know. Usually, it was just people saying something along the lines of "Crazy mother-fucker." the pain he hadn't even really noticed slowly faded farther away from his side and he took a much more reasonable sip from his glass. Clint shook his head again.

"Ok, I think we need something easier to get drunk on." Tony rolled his eyes.

"Please, I can get drunk just find on scotch." Clint gave him a serious look.

You're probably one of the only people who can just ignore the rules on how to drink good scotch."

"Fair enough. I think I have some Vodka somewhere around here." The Archer smiled.

"Perfect." Tony rolled his eyes. They both finished their glasses... Tony almost instantly , Clint just finished it as Tony came back with the bottle he'd found. The other mans grin was back.

"Shots?" Tony glanced over at the group with his eyes rolling.

"What are we, college students?" Clint shrugged but poured them anyway. Neither hesitated.

It wasn't until after his fifth glass and third shot that he considered he probably shouldn't be drinking, especially not this much after the whole blood loss thing... it definitely shot his tolerance to hell, and Clint's, unsurprisingly, was pretty damn high as well... but since Clint was pretty sleep deprived, it evened them out so they were pretty equal.

He could see the same thought process as it ran through the other mans eyes, and they both silently agreed not to bring it up, and kept drinking.

They didn't really talk, just sleepily drinking, which was just fine with him. He wasn't in much of a good mood after the day they'd had. It barely even registered with him when Clint stopped drinking and passed out at the bar. He could actually feel him starting to fall asleep when he felt someone grab his shoulder.

He glanced behind him and smiled widely, probably putting a little too much friendliness into it, but he couldn't give less of a shit. Steve looked a bit too sleepy to notice, which was probably a good thing. The man sighed and Tony immediately leaned onto his shoulder, ignoring the way Steve tensed up for half a second.

"You really shouldn't be drinking." He laughed into the Captains shoulder.

"Prob'ly right." Steve capped the bottle and pushed it away from Tony.

"Really, how much have you guys had?" He shrugged.

"Enoughish."

"That's not a very accurate unit of measurement."

"'ts the point of drinkin' Cap... you don have ta measure how much you drank." Steve's shoulder shook as he laughed.

" I really don't think that's the point."

"Mind your elders, Cappy."

"Elders..? Tony, you do realize that I'm older than you, don't you?"

"Suspended animation aging doesn't count."

"Well, that's hardly fair."  
"Life's a bitch, Cap."

"... True enough." He looked over at Clint again. "Think we should get him to bed..?" Tony shrugged.

"I don't know... maybe a bad night of sleep will make sure he won't Clint around in the ceiling tomorrow." Steve laughed. "Maybe... but think about it. You'll both probably be hung over, do you really want to deal with him complaining all morning as well?" Tony considered for a few seconds.

"I won' be hung over..." He didn't have to see the look Steve gave him to know he was amused.

"Consider how much blood you lost." Tony moaned.

"Don't make me think." Steve laughed.

"That's the only time I'll ever hear the great Tony Stark say that."

"Pshhhh"

"Let's at least move him to the couch or something." Tony lifted his head from the other mans shoulder and raised an eyebrow at him.

"You jus' pointed out I'm drunk... you really wan' my help movin' him?" Steve blushed.

"I suppose not, sorry, didn't think about it." Tony ruffled the mans hair and gained a stunned look for his trouble.

"Forgot you can't get drunk." Steve paused.

"How do you know that?" Tony almost hit himself. Stupid alcohol.

"In Shield files." Steve stood and laughed again as he grabbed Clint.

"Should have known you broke into those." Tony smirked as Steve carried Clint over to the couch with the others, careful not to wake the others.

* * *

**S**

It was probably a good thing the others were deep sleepers, since because the shop was dark with them all sleeping, he tripped over just about everything on the way back over to the bar. He could hear Tony snickering the entire time, and all he could manage to do was smile at the sound. Once you accepted that none of what Tony said was actually meant to be malicious, he turned into a completely different person.

And Tony drunk was actually pretty, well... adorable. He'd never intended to use that word when it came to the other man, but that was the only think he could think of to describe it. He was more relaxed, less guarded, easier to read. He could have hit himself for thinking adorable, but that was it.

Steve wasn't naive... he could see, even at their first meeting, that Tony was gorgeous. He'd been able to ignore it until lately, of course, given that he could still see him as some jerk. And with how stupidly adorable he was being, drunk. He had to accept it for what it was.

And it wasn't like he'd never had to deal with a crush before, even someone he worked with, he'd just thought he'd changed a bit when he managed to fall for Peggy. But it was something he could accept and work through... it would help if Tony wasn't quickly becoming the one he'd go to when he was bored or miserable, or at least if he wasn't so accepting of Steve when he did so. He might complain about things, but he quickly found Tony was the type to accept anything.

He eased himself back onto the stool beside Tony and managed not to jump this time when the other man settled his head comfortably on his shoulder.

Steve sighed and leaned back against him tiredly. "Think we'll get lectured by Coulson too?" Tony shrugged with one shoulder.

"No idea. Migh' have to ask 'Nat or Hawky." Steve shifted his head to look over at him. "Hmm?"

"I just thought the two of you were friends." Tony's shoulders shook from unamused laughter and smiled up at him sadly. "I can't really call Coulson a 'friend'...he'd rather taze me and watch bad TV than deal with me, any day. But he is a good man."

Steve frowned at the man, unable to ignore the inflection his voice was trying to hide. "You're a good man, too, Tony...You have to know that?" Tony just looked at him, small smile quirking up one corner of his mouth. The sadness in his eyes betrayed him.

"Oh, Tony." At that moment, there was nothing that Steve wanted more than to gather up the smaller man into his arms, and whisper at him until the man believed just how amazing he really was. Then, kiss him senseless...But that's not what something that friends did. He really needed to get over this crush thing quickly, before it got out of hand.

Tony sighed an leaned his head back against the warmth of the his steady shoulder. "Sorry, Cap. It takes just the right amount of alcohol to get me into depressive mode, and you managed to cut me off at just that point." Steve frowned again.

"Any way I could cheer you up?" Tony lifted and eyebrow. "Without shoving more alcohol down your throat." Tony laughed at his sudden glare.

"Naaaa, I'll get over it." Steve sighed and leaned his head back onto the darker mans.

"If you say so. Let me know, though, alright?" The other man nodded and covered a yawn.

"Want to go to bed?" It wasn't until after he said it that he thought about it and blushed, thanking God when Tony didn't notice it.

The other man shook his head gently and Steve didn't argue. Even in the bar stools, he was too comfortable to press it. And if Tony was drunk enough to allow it for now, he'd take advantage of it.

* * *

**Alright, last Steve bit was shortish, but that's alright... had to switch back to him, because I wrote bits of it a while ago in his PoV, this was the best place to put it. Plus, you know, story progression and shit. Hope you guys enjoyed.**


	14. Kismet

**My apologies for this chapter being late, I ended up being gone for a week and didn't have a chance to get on any sort of computer.**

** Also sorry I torture all of you with the "Slow Romance" I have going on... it's just rather fun writing oblivious Stony being oblivious towards one another.(Shout out to Fi Suki Saki) Hope you guys enjoyed last chapter, now enjoy this one.**

_"They say I might die and I may be cold." _Devil's Waitin' by Black Rebel Motorcycle Club

* * *

Despite the fact it was over a bar, in the middle of a cold room made mostly of cement, it was easily the best sleep Steve could remember having in a long time. It wasn't until he opened his eyes and got a face-full of deep brown hair that he really remembered why it was so comfortable. It didn't even really bother him that it smelled like motor oil, alcohol and metal. He'd have been happier, of course, if the middle one hadn't been there, but as it was he didn't mind. He dreaded the second when Tony would wake up and most likely got angry with him for sleeping on him like he had. He couldn't imagine the genius would be too pleased.

Still, he didn't remove himself from where he was... It wasn't so much that he couldn't, he just really didn't want to before absolutely necessary. For as thin as the man under him was, he was a really good pillow. He tried not to wonder if the others were awake and curious about what was going on, but it was pointless. Given the distinct lack of noise from their side of the room, it seemed like a pretty safe bet that they were still sleeping, or had already abandoned the room for their own. If he wasn't so worried about waking Tony, he would have just asked Jarvis.

He closed his eyes again just as Tony started shifting, moaning slightly just loud enough for Steve to hear, even as close to him as he was. Steve's heart sank. He couldn't recall ever having seen Tony actually sleep, but deep in his heart he knew that his shifting meant he wasn't going to remain asleep for much longer.

He wasn't wrong. It took Tony all of three seconds after that to start mumbling. The man managed to catch him off guard, though, by how calm he was by everything.

"Dammit, Cap, lift your head a bit, I can't breath."

Steve was so startled that he did it without having to think about it.

"Oh, relax. I don't bite, even as early as it is."

Steve snorted. "I don't think it's early."

Tony just mumbled unintelligibly into his shoulder, seeming to nestle closer to him. When Steve didn't move, he felt Tony's breath as he sighed against his neck and lifted his head, rubbing his eyes with the palm of one hand.

"Fuckkkk... J, what time is it, anyway?"

"It is Ten am, Sir."

Tony turned so he was looking at Steve. "See. Early morning."

Steve rolled his eyes with a yawn. "Six would be early, Tony."

Tony sighed again. "Too early for this conversation, I don't care what you say."

He laughed. "I'll actually agree with you on that one."

Tony grinned sleepily at him and moved to stand, leaving a cold spot on Steve's side as he left. The man took a step before he stumbled and his hand shot to his head.

"Oh, Double fuck."

Steve raised an eyebrow at his back, fully aware the other man couldn't see it. "Hangover?" Tony just groaned. "Warned you last night, you know." Tony moved a hand to flip him off.

"You don't trust someone who's drunk to think rationally."

"I'll keep that in mind. Want me to grab you some asprin or something?"

"And coffee?" There was something so hopeful in Tony's voice that seemed completely too pleading just for coffee.

"Water first, it's better for you. Besides, you should probably eat before you get coffee."

Tony moaned again with a glare over his shoulder. "I don't do breakfast. Ever. Please don't make me do it again."

Steve took pity on him purely because it was impossible not to when he sounded so uncharacteristically pleading or so hopelessly hopeful. "Fine." Then moved to force Tony to sit back down. "Stay here, I'll be right back." Tony, surprisingly, just nodded.

On his way out of the lab, he had to sneak past all of the others, still sleeping as soundly as they had been last night when he'd checked on them.

Th coffee machine was really easy to use, once Natasha had shown him how it worked, and he had gotten a hang if it in no time, so coffee really wasn't a problem. He set up the the pot and ran to grab some painkillers, making it back to the kitchen before the coffee pot was full. He leaned against the counter while he waited and rubbed the last of the sleep from his eyes.

It was odd... he'd expected some huge reaction from Tony... but the man hadn't seemed to mind in the least. He hadn't panicked, hadn't even cursed him out. For that matter, Steve hadn't been all that surprised to wake with the other man sleeping on him. That in itself was odd. When he tried to think about why he had been so relaxed and accepting of it, all it could think was that it was Tony. Which, of course, was _not_ a good answer. Sure, he liked the guy, too much, even, but that shouldn't mean he got so used to him so close as quickly as he seemed to be. It felt too natural.

He shook his head. He might as well enjoy the feeling. At least around Tony, he didn't feel alone and after his admittedly short amount of time in the future, that was the best feeling in the world. He imagined Bucky would be laughing at him for over thinking this and teasing him about it. For that matter, Tony probably would be too, if he knew. And he probably deserved it, at this point. Maybe it was just one of those thing's he'd never understand... he wasn't sure if he'd ever be comfortable with those things, but they did exist. Maybe that was the reason Tony didn't believe in a God...

He frowned. How did he know that..? That was disturbing. In his time, it was uncommon for people not to, so it wasn't like him to just assume... but he knew it was true. He shook his head. It had probably come up in one of their conversations, and he'd been too absorbed in whatever he was drawing to realize it. It obviously was common enough now, so it was natural it wouldn't phase him. That had to be it... he had no other explanation. Besides, the coffee was done. He'd have to figure it out later... or never. Never seemed like a great idea at the moment.

He poured them both a cup of the scalding liquid before adding sugar to his and paused for a second before deciding Tony wasn't the type to take anything in his coffee and balanced them both carefully in one hand before grabbing a glass of water as well, as more of an afterthought than anything.

Jarvis was kind enough to open the door for him without him having to put his code in, which was pleasant because it would have been next to impossible. It was really almost hard to think about how quickly he'd gotten used to little things Jarvis could and would do for them... a few weeks ago, it would have made him jump out of his skin, at the very least. He was sure that Tony and Jarvis both would be thankful that he hadn't moved here immediately after he woke up, and had gotten a little bit of time to get used to more modern technology... otherwise, there would a lot of broken tech. As it was, the common technology of the time was more of a jumping block to prepare him for what the genius had.

By the time he passed by the group again, Clint was blinking sleepily at him from where he was still sprawled out on the floor. He nodded to him, but made his way past quickly. Clint was one of those that would undoubtedly try to steal his coffee instead of going to get his own... and he was skilled enough to actually manage it, so it was best not to give him the opportunity to try... even after he had just woken up. Steve had learned not to underestimate any of his team when it came to their specific skill set. Even outside of their given skills, they were a pretty surprising group, such as Bruce was actually a pretty good cook. More surprising, so was Natasha.

At first it had felt a little odd that It was more surprising for Natasha to be more surprising there, given that in his time, it was commonplace for women to be the better cooks... actually from what he'd seen, it was still that way, for the most part. The amount of cooking shows on tv was both amazing and disturbing. On one hand, he loved watching them, and learning new things he could try. On the other, it seemed like there was too much of an obsession with it, but there seemed to be an equal amount of male and female chefs.

Tony was right where he'd left him, hunched over with his head on the counter covered by his arms his arms. He had to smile to himself before he set the coffee and water in front of where he was laying as quietly as he was able to. Tony still jumped awake at the soft clink of the cup against the granite top and half turned to give him a small smile before grabbing the coffee. Steve rolled his eyes and set the painkillers down next to the water, reclaiming his seat before sipping at his coffee.

He winced at the bitter bite against his tongue and reached out to grab Tony's cup before he could drink it... too late. The other man winced and gave the cup a confused look.

"The hell..."

Steve blushed. "I... might have given you mine, sorry."

He handed the one in his hand over, trying to ignore Tony's confused glare.

"Why would you ruin perfectly good coffee by adding sugar to it?"

Steve rolled his eyes again. "It tastes better that way."

Tony snorted and took a drink of his new cup, sighing peacefully after he pulled away and laid his head back down onto his arms, trying to cover a wince. Steve frowned.

"How are you doing?"

Tony cracked a eye to look at him. "Not great... I hurt a lot. You know, between us. Tell anyone else I ever said that, I will call you a liar, no matter how ridiculous it may sound."

Steve smiled. "Right... because normally everything you say doesn't." He somehow didn't notice Tony's moving until he was smacked upside the head lethargically. He wasn't sure how he managed to miss the movement, it wasn't exactly sneaky or fast moving at all... Steve just wasn't really expecting it.

He looked over and tried to glare at the mans impish grin, but couldn't quiet manage to.

"What was that for?"

Tony shrugged. "You should know damn well what."

A throat cleared behind them, and Steve could feel himself jump. Tony's body didn't even shift.

"Do I even want to know?" Steve adjusted himself to look at a slightly amused looking Coulson standing behind them, arms crossed over his chest. Steve shrugged, and Coulson seemed to take that as an answer. "Didn't think so."

Behind him, the others were starting to stretch as they woke up, Clint already by far the most awake of the bunch, enough that his complaints about having to sleep on the floor were no longer an ignorable murmur. Bruce was sleepily making his way towards the stairs without so much as looking at the team that was sprawled out behind him. He was really coming a long way from the guy how couldn't afford to trust anyone and had been on the run for years. It was nice to see. Obviously he wasn't the only one who thought so, since he caught both Coulson and Tony staring at the man as he left with the same looks on their faces.

At least, they were until Jarvis's voice filtered through the room. "Sorry to interrupt, Sir, but T'Challa on video line one." That caught everyone's attention. They all seemed to range for mildly curious to outright obsessed with Tony's long time friend, and since Steve was just as guilty of it as the rest were, there wasn't much he could say about it. Not that Tony really seemed to mind... He'd just tell them offhandedly to fuck off, then ignore their reactions.

Coulson just so happened t be one of the shamelessly obsessed of the group, so his head immediately snapped from Tony over to the huge screen he usually used when speaking to the man. Clint being the other, was at their sides in an instant, glaring at Tony as if personally insulted, just like he did every time the Wakandan came up... apparently, he'd decided that since they were a team, they shouldn't have powerful friends that the others didn't know about, no matter that they had only been a team for a short time, or that until now, it hadn't mattered that the man had even existed.

Tony glanced between the two Shield agents before rolling his eyes at Steve and pushed past them to get to the monitor where there was a call waiting to be taken. Steve hid a smile before following the other man at a more leisurely pace than the other two set, only feeling a little ashamed to be intruding on Tony's privacy like this. More than anything, he was still really curious about it all. He couldn't help it... it was all just so intriguing. Not to mention he liked T'Challa, the one kind of conversation they had had leaving him with no doubt that the man was someone he would be able to get along with. Those were rare... they always had been, not just now, but in his time too.

He had too much to prove and people either didn't understand that or didn't appreciate it. At least now he was in a group who had just as much to prove as he always had, if not more, in some cases.

As he got to the screen, the dark mans face flashed onto it, nodding solemnly at each of them in turn.

"I trust you picked up the spike in the atmosphere yesterday, my friend."

Tony nodded and winced. "Don't be silly, of course we did... we just may or may not have been a little late in getting to it."

T'Challa's lips twitched upward slightly. "I had assumed, given that another spike occurred not long after in the same area. It is unfortunate, but perhaps unavoidable."

Coulson frowned. "How do you figure that?"

"Easily. Their skills are unknown to us, and our counters unprepared. Just because we have the ability to find them does not mean that we have the means to keep them where they are found."

Steve shook his head. "I thought that they could only use one of their portals every few days or so... it shouldn't have been possible for them to get away, not as quickly as they did. We were right on top of them."

Thor cleared his throat from a short distance away. " It is true that it takes a certain amount of time to recuperate the energy used to power the Executioners ability... unless he draws it from himself."

Tony frowned and glared over at the God. " Meaning..?"

"He can use a fraction of his own life-force to power it more quickly. The shouldn't have gone too far away, for I strongly feel Amora would not be pleased with having to use her servants life in such a way."

Steve blinked, frown deepening. "But... he's a God, right? As in immortal?"

Thor shook his head. "Nay, Skurge is not Asgardian. His life may be longer than one on Midgard, but he is still very much mortal. And he is shortening his years in the service of the Enchantress. It does not bode well."

Tony shook his head. "If she's willing to force him to do that, that means we need to find a better way to stop him from being able to, or we're not going to be able to keep up, unless one of us is quick enough to follow... and I'm not too keen on the whole ' portal into deep space to most likely die' again plan any time soon. Kinda hit my quota, there."

Clint smirked. "We'll call it 'Plan oh shit.'" He was ignored.

T'Challa nodded. "It would be unwise to try and follow that course. You don't jump into a snake hole not knowing what kind of snake you follow, much less how many. It could be an ambush."

Clint's eyes narrowed a little bit. "That was kinda a weird metaphor..."

Tony shook his head at the archer. "Man, everything with Wakandans is all naturey. Its creepy, trust me."

T'Challa grinned widely. "And why would it not be? Nature is the force that keeps the world going. There's nothing it can't explain to us if we look closely enough."

Tony shook his head. "Except for how we can stop Bonnie and Clyde from poofing out of here any time we show up."

The Wakandan looked thoughtful. "Perhaps it can. You say that it takes energy to use these portals, yes?" Thor nodded, frown deepening. "and our Vibranium has the ability to absorb energy... perhaps we can find a way to use this trait to close these portals before they get a chance to use them."

Tony perked up again. "Right... that might actually work, if we can maybe powder some of it..."

T'Challa shook his head. "I am not sure it would work. If we merely grind it down to so small a size, it would lose much of its traits, unless we could find a way around it. I am afraid my scientists would not be prepared to make and test it efficiently, nor would I without more information to go on, even if I had the time."

Tony paused for a second. "This is just one huge trick to get me to come back to your death-trap of a jungle, isn't it?"

T'Challa looked a bit sheepish. "Perhaps... though it is still a viable theory that should at least be tested."

Tony looked like he was trying not to smile again. " I'll have to clear it out with Shield... but this does seem to be a proper use of my time, if it will help us with these two. And with my suit, I don't see why I shouldn't... if anything happens, I can show up relatively on time. Still..." he bit his lip and glanced away from the team, to the other side of the room.

Steve may have had no idea what it was about, but T'Challa seemed to. " It would be wise to- this once- bring one of your team to watch your back. My land is safe and open to you, of course, but if this Amora shows up close, it would be careless to go to her alone."

Tony looked up to the screen eyes slightly wider. "You sure about that... what about your whole 'No Outsiders' rule..?"

T'Challa shrugged. "It shall take a little convincing, but my people will see the right of it before long. Times are changing and if we do not move with it, we shall be lost in it. We are a people of habit, but sometimes change is needed to form new habits."

Clint shot over to Tony in a heartbeat. "You're bringing me, right! Right? Come on, you know you love me, you should totally bring me."

Tony rolled his eyes. "Right... and get myself shot full of metally spears when you piss them off? That sounds like a bad idea in the making."

"Bad ideas can be fun ideas." Clint actually looked like he was pouting. "Let me guess, going to take Bruce?"

Tony thought about it for a second before shaking his head. " No... this isn't really his type of science, I think. Besides, Wakanda can be just as stressful if you don't know what to expect as it is relaxing, especially if you're jumpy about people sneaking up on you all the time. Thor will be more useful to you guys, if you have to get somewhere fast.." Steve couldn't help the small smile that was slowly forming on his face. He wasn't about to go competing to go on this little trip, but the fact he was 'in the running' as it were was definitely exciting. Spending that amount of time alone with Tony sounded really amazing at the moment... in a place that inspired such curiosity in all of them sounded like a once in a life-time opportunity... he'd hate to miss out on it.

"And no offense, 'Tasha, but you're going to be more valuable with the rest of the team. So, you up for it Cap?" He was sure his smile was enough of an answer. the others seemed to take it well enough, even if Clint did seem a bit disappointed.

* * *

**Alright, finally done with this one, again, sorry it took so long, it's been a long week, I'll try not to let it happen again if possible. Also, a bit shorter than I would have liked, but it's up, so you know, there's that. Hope you guys enjoyed. Also, thanks Melissen, definitely a good idea that I go back and re-edit... should really start doing that before I post, I guess. **


	15. Enervate

**Hey all, glad you enjoyed last chapter, hope you enjoy this one as well. Really need to start writing this earlier than the day before I put it up... really should have started this one before 2 am before I go to sleep on Friday. So this will probably be up later in the day, but it should be up on Friday, if not, my bad. Might end up not sleeping in order to write this chapter...Fuck it, I mean, Yolo, right? Yeah. I might or might not be a little out of it right now. I blame my writing on that. **

** Bit of split PoV this chapter, heads up. **

_"I traded brick for straw in the house I build around my heart." _Landing Feet First by Bayside

* * *

Clint acted completely insulted for most of the day, but whenever Steve looked at the man, he could catch the edge of a smile before it was covered up. He felt like he was missing something, and the only thing that made it a little better was based on the confused looks Tony would get on his face looking at the archer, he noticed the same thing and couldn't figure it out any more than he could. He wouldn't have really minded, normally... but Clint seemed to be insistent on following him around all day, so it was starting to get on his nerves, probably more than it should have.

But whenever he asked, Clint just shrugged and left, only to appear again twenty minutes later.

It finally stopped around 3 in the afternoon when Natasha noticed it and dragged the man off, presumably to have a talk with him. After that, at least Clint wasn't following him around, even if he still had the "I know something and I'm debating how to use the information best." look in his eyes. At least it wasn't too blindingly obvious anymore. He wondered briefly if he should be worried before deciding it was better not to know until it came up.

Driving himself crazy was what Clint wanted him to do. And maybe it was just all of the time he'd been spending around Tony, but he refused to give in and give him the satisfaction of knowing it bothered him more than he let on. Ok, definitely his time around Tony coming through a little there. He didn't really mind, though.

Instead he tried to concentrate on prepping himself for the impending trip to Africa. He still wasn't too sure why he was the best choice in geniuses' mind for this, but he wasn't about to start complaining. Tony was still in the process of convincing Fury that it was, in fact, necessary not only for him to go, but that he should be able to bring Steve as back-up. He didn't envy the other man that job. But then, based on how Fury had been acting lately, he was just as likely as Tony was to get fed up with the Director and do something stupid. He had a feeling that that wouldn't help.

He was actually starting to get irritated at having to run absolutely everything by Fury... Sure, having been in the Army, he was used to it, but they weren't supposed to be a military group, so it didn't make sense. And it was driving them all a little crazy, even Coulson's mouth would tighten slightly in an effort to keep his temper whenever he had to call to "Check In" with Shield.

Still, he tried not to show the others how excited he was for the trip. They wouldn't blame him or hold it against him, of course, but it still seemed like a mean thing to do, like rubbing it in their faces when he wasn't sure who other than Clint- and probably Bruce- had wanted to go instead. Besides, they probably would have started teasing him about it, and things were stressful enough since Amora that it was better that didn't start up.

Of course, before Amora, they probably wouldn't have even considered teasing him in any way... strange, when a murderous villain could bring a group of very different people into a friendship. Then, he supposed they weren't a very likely group of people to begin with, much less when thought of as friends. In his time, people like them didn't exist. Or, rather, if they didn't they were pushed into the back of society and shunned, ignored. They were too different from the rest of the world and the less the world saw of it, the better. He'd gotten all too clear a taste on that reality before he'd made a name for himself. He distinctly remembered being called a "show poodle," actually.

And that really was all he was then. He'd hated it past anything he could imagine, but it was the way of the world. He wasn't sure how he'd managed to make it through.

It was odd for once not to be down in Tony's lab... but without the man there, none of them felt comfortable enough to be there. The way the others were aimlessly wandering around the tower, trying to figure out where to be, it was obviously not just him. He personally had decided just to hang out in the gym for the duration of Tony's absence. It was the next thing to home for him, and it took a lot for him to get tired out, so it was a way to pass the time, more than anything.

He ended up finding the rest of the team as they all slowly wandered into the movie room when Jarvis put on a movie without any of them asking. They all settled down almost instantly to watch some pirates search for a medallion... Steve really wasn't paying enough attention to understand much of the premiss other than there was a lot of violence but not a lot of people seemed to be dying.

The others were having a similar problem, all of them watching the door at intervals. What they were waiting for, he wasn't sure... they probably just were curious as to how Tony would manage to convince Fury... if he managed to, at least. It was unlikely that he wouldn't... he was Tony Stark after all, and of the many things Steve had learned in his time in this time, Tony could talk just about anyone into anything.

He didn't notice the small smile growing until he saw Clint staring at him again, that same secretive spark still glistening in his eyes.

They made it to the second movie with the same cast of characters before he realized it was getting pretty late. Tony must be having more trouble with Shield than he'd expected... that, or they were just farther away than he'd estimated. Finding the heli-carrier wasn't ever really an exact science, after all. And that probably pissed Tony off... annnnd he was smiling again for no real reason. He shifted his eyes slightly to see if Clint had noticed again, only to hind him fast asleep curled up next to Thor.

For that matter, only he and Natasha seemed to still be awake... they all really had a bad habit of falling asleep during movies. Back in the 40's, that would have been unheard of, but now...it was too easy to do, especially on the comfortable couches that inhabited the entire tower. For a group of superheroes constantly lacking sleep and willing to fall asleep wherever they managed to fall once they got home, it was perfect. It didn't take him much longer to lay down on his side of the couch, carefully avoiding the rest of his team as they clumped up on the other half and let himself fall into a light sleep as well. Maybe Tony would make them re-watch the movie at some point. Steve wouldn't mind.

* * *

** T**

Tony was officially starting to get pissed off. Ok, to be fair, he'd started getting pissed long before he allowed himself to admit it, but he was starting to _acknowledge_ just how pissed off he was. And to his credit, he was doing a damn good job at keeping it to himself. Well, for being him, he was. Anyone else, it would probably be passable.

The really stupid part was Fury was doing absolutely nothing to try to make it easier on him, or even seemed to notice he was trying to rip his god damn head off and feed it to Hill. Really, how the hell was it anywhere near Fury, or Shields place to tell him where he could go or when...

Thing was... Fury seemed to think that is was perfectly reasonable and within his rights to do exactly that. And he outright acted like he owned Steve, which was the real reason he was having trouble at the moment remembering that killing the Director would get him nothing good... other than a few moments of silence. And really he didn't think fury meant it in that kind of way, or realized how what he was saying sounded, so he shouldn't blame the asshole. Didn't keep him from doing just that, though. He'd never been known to keep his mouth shut when something pissed him off. And Fury wasn't well known to put up with it.

"For the last time, now is not the time for your little vacation."

Tony glared. "Oh, fuck off. You're just pissed because your little spy eye missed something."

Fury didn't look at him. "Oh, and who says we missed that you had a contact in Wakanda?"

Tony didn't bother to correct the 'Contact' comment... again... and snorted a bitter laugh. "The fact that you almost popped a blood vessel an hour ago when you found out says enough about what you knew."

Fury ignored him. "Not only that, but you insist on taking with you, not just one of your teammates, but your leader..?"

Tony frowned. " leader through default. And yeah. He's the obvious choice."

"Why not take Natasha, of Barton?"

Tony's glare deepened. "Oh yeah, why not just take _you_ along, cut out the middle man." He paused. "Oh, wait, I forgot. You prefer to do your spying through other people, at a distance."

Fury considered it for a second. "Point taken."

Tony raised an eyebrow. "Oh, now you're going to be reasonable?"

"I think I've been perfectly reasonable."

"You're telling me that I'm not allowed to go visit a friend. I'm a grown ass man, very capable of making my own decisions. I only came to clear it with you as a courtesy. I'd say that's unreasonable of you."

"What's unreasonable is you trying to take away half of my fighting force when it might be needed at a moments notice."

Tony cut him off. "No, I won't be. I'll just be taking me and one other person out of your line of sight, and it's pissing you off. We'll be able to respond to any calls, this might just be the way to catch that psycho-bitch, and at most I'm borrowing a third of _our team_. We've all agreed that it's perfectly reasonable. Even Agent."

Fury lifted an eyebrow in confusion. Tony rolled his eyes. "Coulson." Fury rolled his eye, but nodded.

"... I don't like this."

"No one expects you to. But you know what... doesn't fucking matter. You're a big boy too. Learn to share, Fury."

Fury glared. "You'd better watch yourself, Stark."

Tony smirked. "So I take it that's your reluctant yes, then?"

"Yeah. That's my reluctant yes. If you fuck up, it's on your head, you better know that."

"Oh, trust me, you've made that quite clear. And just so you know: I don't give much of a shit."

"You've made that clear." They stared at one another for another few second before Fury turned away and Tony smirked at his back. It had taken a lot longer for him to agree than he'd expected, but Tony was just glad for the win for the moment. Once he had more time to think about how much more difficult than it should have been it was, he was sure he'd get pissed all over again.

He didn't bother hanging around the Heli-carrier as he usually would, doing small checkups on its maintenance, he made his way back to the small station he'd built a while ago to hold his suit for this sort of thing. Normally he hated just leaving it around, but with Jarvis hacked discreetly into the carrier's system, he didn't have to worry about it. Robots were just so much better than people sometimes... definitely more reliable.

If the agents were wondering why he wasn't sticking around to check up on everything, they didn't say anything, or even look at him curiously. He supposed it was a byproduct of getting into a kind-of shouting match with the Director. He didn't mind in the least.

He only really relaxed once the cool metal of his suit finished wrapping itself around his body and he lept from the moving carrier, allowing himself to free-fall until the last possible second, barely skimming the ocean in his passing. He almost wished that he could feel the air as he fell. It was freeing, in an odd way. The flight home was longer than the one there had been... he sensed it wasn't a mistake, but he counted it as Fury still being bitter about it all.

By the time he got home, he wasn't surprised the others were, for the most part, passed out in the living room they usually watched movies... well, where they had before they all decided to move down into his shop. The only one not sprawled across the couch were Bruce, who was in his 'claimed' chair, and Natasha, unsurprisingly, wasn't even in the room. Clint was passed out, leaning on Thor in a corner while Steve took up most of the couch laying down. Tony smiled lightly at them and smothered a laugh...

Apparently, not enough, since Clint jumped awake and blinked sleepily at him for a few seconds before laying his head back down.

Tony shook his head at the group, and considered grabbing a blanket for them... but for one thing, he had no clue if he actually had any blankets around, and two it was decently warm in the tower, so he decided they would be fine without it.

He stared for another few seconds before deciding it was a little creepy if he were to hang out any longer in a room with sleeping people, but as he was leaving the room, someones hand landed on his shoulder. If it were possible, he would have jumped out of his skin. He was quite proud of the fact he didn't make a noise. Benefits of living with two spies that never could do the decent thing and make a little noise to let you know they were coming. It was a pain in the ass... but it was also fun as hell to do to other people, so he couldn't complain... much.

The good thing was he at least knew who it was before they spoke.

"You're a fucking asshole, I hope you know that Hawky." the snickering behind him proved him right almost immediately, and he resumed his walk out of the room. "You know, you should be sleeping."

Clint laughed again. "I think you really underestimate how quickly I can wake up when I want to."

"I underestimate absolutely nothing, it doesn't make it any more natural when you do it." he could almost feel Clint rolling his eyes at his back.

The hand finally pulled him to a stop a few feet outside of the room, and Tony turned to face his teammate with an eyebrow raised.

"Ok, ambush over, what do you want?"

Clint grinned at him impishly. "I know."

"Oh, well that's a fucking miracle... I know shit too. Care to tell me what it is you know?"

"You know what I know." Despite still having no clue what the other man was talking about, he could feel something cold developing in his gut.

"Ok, can we end this conversation sooner rather than later, kinda have a Fury-induced headache."

Clint spoke slowly, almost tauntingly. "I know you have a thing for the Cap."

Tony paused for half a second, processing the best response he could come up with to look uncaring. After the brief shock, it wasn't too hard, it wasn't as if he was being discreet about anything, he was lucky it was only Clint who'd noticed. Or, rather, he was sure they all had with the exception of Steve, but they were all polite enough to leave it between the two of them.

He should have known better when it came to the archer. He smirked at the man. "Figure that out all on your own?"

Clint was obviously not expecting him to be so straight forward about it, and just took a second to blink in surprise. "...Not going to deny it or anything?"

Tony shrugged. "No point in it." and there really wasn't. Not like he expected to keep it a secret or anything. He didn't expect any of them to have a problem with it... just be assholes every now and then.

"...Huh. Kind of expected some huge fight or something to develop out of that."

Tony shrugged again. "Can't see why. I thought you knew me better than that." with that he winked at the other man and left him where he was standing, continuing back to his shop. Well, he started to. Clint snapped out of whatever trance he was in a few seconds after, and was soon slinging his arm over his shoulders.

"Alright, how long has it been going on... and why didn't you guys just tell us, it's not like we'd be completely assholes about it, you know. Now it makes more sense why you're bringing Stevey instead of me." Tony took a second to figure out the mans logic.

"...You shitting me, Steve doesn't know." Clint paused again.

" Wait, really? _How_. Thor can see something's going on, and Steve can't? That's just... not right."

Tony snorted. "Tell me about it. Oh well, give him some time. Seriously. Say anything to him, I might have to murder you. Viciously."

"Hmmmm... I don't know, what's in it for me...?"

Tony rolled his eyes. " well, you could always go back to living at Shield, I'm sure they'd be glad to have you back for early morning patrols."

Clint paled a little. "They wouldn't put a field agent connected to a superhero group on patrol..."

Tony grinned at him. "You really want to bet?"

"You're hacked into their systems, aren't you?"

"You even have to ask that question?"

Clint winced. "I was hoping I was wrong.. Ok, silence. Got it. He might never figure it out if let on his own, you know."

Tony shrugged with another grin. " Well, you know. I'll figure it out."

Clint shook his head. "Well, if it makes you feel better, I think he likes you, too."

Tony's grin widened and he winked at the other man again. "I know. Have to give him some time to come around, though."

Clint nodded. "I suppose he did come from a different time..."

He shook his head. "Na, you should know he wouldn't care about it like that. Just... we didn't exactly get the best start, you know? Still think he might be working through that more than he lets on."

"And so, what. This trip supposed to help, or something?"

Tony's smile weakened a little. "Or something. He really is the obvious choice, you know. Wakadan's are a bit... let's say jumpy... until they get to know you, and bringing someone into their land that they aren't overly sure of? That will make them jumpier. I wasn't lying when I said you'd be a bad choice."

"Ouch, way to make a guy feel loved."

Tony laughed as he was hit lightly across the back of the head. "Oh, no, baby, don't be like that."

Clint shoved him away. "I can think of someone who won't like you talking to me like that..."

Tony laughed. "You know you want me." Clint just flipped him off as he veered away from the staircase down over to the kitchen and Tony took it as his chance to escape.

He was one of the easier people to be around he'd ever met, that was to be sure, but he didn't really feel like dealing with the asshole right then. Actually, what he really wanted was to talk to T'Challa. It was unlikely, but the one thing he couldn't stop thinking since they'd decided to go to Wakanda was what if there was some way to get Steve to remember...

Sure, he'd probably hate him all over again for what he hadn't told him and everything, but it felt like cheating for the man not to know at all. It felt dirty. Not to mention maybe then he'd stop trying to bring up his father whenever they spent too much time hanging around one another. That was starting to grate on his nerves more than anything.

He really didn't expect much to come of it, but it never hurt to ask around a bit... for shits and giggles, probably as it would turn out. He wasn't overly sure what he would do if there was a way. In a way, Starting over was kind of nice... slow, it felt meaningful. But what if under all of his memories, he really did hate Tony now..? It would make sense as to why they hadn't gotten along when they'd 'first' met. He'd done what he'd felt was necessary at the time, but he wasn't sure if he could live with Steve blaming him, for letting him down like that. Then, there was a slim chance that he didn't hate him, or at the very least was willing to forgive him.

But right was right, and it wasn't fair to keep him in the dark about it when there may be other options. Stupid Steve, rubbing all of his morals all over him. Why could it never just be what was easy when it came to being a hero? It would have been much more enjoyable that way.

He sat heavily on the couch and instructed Jarvis to call T'Challa before he could think about changing his mind. There, unsurprisingly, was no immediate answer, so he just leaned back and waited, resisting the urge to go make himself a drink.

* * *

**Little later in the day than I would have liked, but at least I did get it up today. Hope you guys enjoyed it and everything. On a side note... (American) Football games last much longer than they should. It's enjoyable, I guess, but really. Anyway, blame the 49ers for the slightly late update. well, that and slightly glitchy internet today. **


	16. Ambit

** Hello again, and welcome back to my story. Lets try two chapters per week... just on trial at the moment, not sure if I'll have time or motivation to actually manage it, but we'll see. If I do manage to, you can thank Melissen. **

** If I don't, nothing against you guys or anything, can't manage that. Well, that and I am trying to start new stories, nothing enough to be posted, and probably won't be overly consistent until this one is done if I end up posting them at all. **

** "**_When I look you're never there but when I sleep, you're everywhere." _Everywhere- Yellowcard

* * *

Steve was really starting to get more nervous about the whole thing rather than excited, he'd decided while watching the distant grass pass below him in a rush, clinging onto the Iron Man suit for dear life. Rationally, he knew it was just to get his mind off of how fast they were moving, but really, it was hard to think when the only thing that was really between him and death was Tony's grip on him through a _flying metal suit._

Not that he could ever even imagine Tony dropping him, but his body couldn't figure that out. In hindsight, maybe he should have insisted on taking on of the jets, or let Shield drop them at a safe distance, anything, really... but at the time, this had seemed practical enough. Tony's suit could easily carry him and both of the packs they had. Not to mention he actually really enjoyed flying with Tony... the few times he'd done it before were amazing. And this time he was prepared, and had dressed for the cold, so there was that.

He hadn't calculated flying at breakneck speeds for hours over oceans as well as land would get a little terrifying. He was just lucky that Tony's suit was made of a strong enough metal he wasn't likely to damage it... he had a feeling the genius would be a little ticked off at him if he managed to dent it. At least the flying over the ocean part seemed to be over with... in a way that made it worse.

At least over the ocean, he had a chance to live if he were to fall. He decided he wouldn't do so well if it were him vs the ground after a few hundred feet of falling. Stupid gravity.

He was sure Tony could tell how tense he was, and was thankful the man didn't say anything over the com to him. But that was probably just because he'd gotten caught up in thinking about something halfway over the Atlantic, and had slowly stopped talking. Steve had asked what was on his mind, but not a whole lot of what Tony answered with made much sense, surprise surprise. He did seem to be trying to use common English words, but that didn't make things much easier.

But then, it wasn't so much about the words when he spoke with Tony about anything related to science... it was just his voice. He felt stupid and cheesy thinking about that, but he'd gladly make a fool of himself to be able to just listen to that voice wash over him and calm him like nothing else could. It didn't matter if it was irrational, so much of life was anyway. What was one more thing?

Tony didn't seem to understand that, though, and had stopped talking as soon as he realized he wouldn't be able to explain in a manner Steve would understand. But he couldn't make his voice work at this point to say anything about it, so there wasn't much he could do about it. Besides, he'd probably just embarrass himself.

He never thought he'd have to long for his feet to be back on solid ground... but then, he obviously had never prepared to be friends with Tony Stark... had never even thought someone like him could exist. He wasn't complaining. A little bit of unfounded fear was worth it.

It actually came as a surprise when he felt them slowing down, and suddenly the grassy plains below him became clearer. It took him a depressing amount of time to realize that they were landing... he blamed it on being used to Tony just slamming to a stop, completely in control, not the careful one he was making now.

They drifted to a stop slowly, and dropped a few inches into the long dry grass of an open plain on the edges of what seemed to be a forest. His feet settled onto the ground again, but he felt like he was standing on a boat in the middle of a storm. He was a little surprised... he hadn't assumed flying would be able to do that. But then, they had been up there for hours, he should have expected it.

He looked around, and saw nothing but trees and grass for miles.

Tony shrugged, and Steve could hear the sheepish smile even under the helmet covering his face. "Sorry, I kind of had to promise T'Challa I wouldn't fly straight into the city... Like I said, they can get a bit nervy about strangers."

Steve shrugged and continued looking around, wide-eyed. He couldn't shake the feeling that they were being watched... It made him a little worried. Tony seemed to sense whatever he felt as well, and laid a hand on his shoulder.

"Don't worry, they're friendlies, or we'd have a fight on our hand already. Just let them stalk at heir own pace." Steve nodded and forced himself to relax under the cold metal still settled on his shoulder.

Almost as soon as he said that, two figures rose from the grass not five feet away from them... if he hadn't had time to get used to that sort of thing from Clint and Natasha, he probably would have punched them without having time to think about it. Tony didn't even jump... made sense that he knew it was coming. Thankfully, like Tony said, they didn't seem hostile... they weren't smiling, but they also kept their weapons down and pointed away from the them.

"You have returned, lost one." The man didn't even seem to acknowledge Steve's existence... he was alright with that. Both of the Wakandas had an air around them, like one would sense on a hunting cat before they decided to attack. It was almost as intimidating as the aliens had been.

Tony seemed so relaxed in his suit, and the face plate shot up, revealing a glistening smile underneath. It was a comfort that helped ease the tension within Steve.

"What, just like that, as if you didn't know we were coming...? please, I thought you would give me a little more credit than that." Despite the smile, Tony almost seemed disappointed.

One of the men returned a toothy grin. "The Black Panther assured us that you would, but some had our doubts."

"Wow, I feel so very loved... Speaking of, where is tall dark and dangerous, anyway?"

The man gestured around the grass. "The Panther prowls, covering your arrival from any who may be watching... you did not land very far into our lands, and neighboring tribes have been getting a little restless of late."

Tony frowned. "Troubling you?"

The other shook his head. "Not enough to worry, but they may yet grow bold, should they see an opening. At most they would be as pests, but it would still be mildly annoying."

Tony nodded without looking around, even as Steve scanned the fields. Nothing moved.

"Well, I'm still hurt you couldn't be courteous enough to come greet your guests properly, "T'Challa. I mean, I get you guys don't exactly get visitors often, but damn, your social skills are lacking."

The men smothered laughter, not bothering to hide wide grins.

Steve felt something brush through the grass at a distance moments before a vaguely familiar voice rose from the plains. "I believe this is still a better greeting you received from my father, the first time you arrived here, my friend."

Steve, despite having felt the grass' movement and the heightened senses of a super-soldier, could not have told where the sound rose from, but Tony's eyes trained directly onto a specific spot by Steve, and smiled to the seemingly empty patch of long dead grass. "That's not really saying very much, and you know that damn well. I was lucky to keep my head attached to my body last time."

The only thing that kept Steve from jumping again as tall figure rose from the grass feet away from him was Tony's stare at exactly that place, and how calm the others were about it. He didn't think he'd ever felt so out of place.

If the others had given the impression of hunting cats, this new one embodied the essence of it, from the sinuous black that covered his entire body to the gracefully billowing cloak that didn't bother making any noise it was obvious who and what this man was... The Black Panther. No one could have confused Tony's friend with anything else.

The huge man shook his head. " Regardless, we should be moving. We are not being watched... for the moment. This could change If we take our time getting to better shelter." despite his words, the man turned to his head to face Steve, the first time any of them had really seemed to notice him. "Ah, Captain Rogers. It brings me much pleasure to finally meet you face to face, after so long hearing of you."

Tony's face was staying annoyingly, decidedly blank, but Steve could swear the man was hiding a smile. He let his eyes widen a fraction as he watched the dark figure, trying to figure out how to respond to something like that. "Oh, I ….you too?" eloquent, Steve. Well done. T'Challa just laughed, a booming sound that reminded him vaguely of Thor before turning back to Tony.

"I believe your friend must be given more time to become accustomed to us... he smells uneasy."

Tony shrugged and Steve didn't let himself get insulted. It wasn't that hard, as it hadn't been said in a cruel manner. Just a statement that was undeniably true. "To his credit, you guys do tend to pop out of the fucking nowhere and expect people to be ok with it." Steve didn't bother to hide the small smirk... It was nice to have Tony defend him, even if it wasn't necessary. The others smiled back at him, but said nothing. Perhaps they had, like T'Challa, sensed he was nervous around them and had therefore kept their distance to avoid making him more so. That would fit in with the very small understanding he had of these people.

T'Challa sighed, bright yellow eyes scanning Tony's armour. "You might be more comfortable out of the suit as we walk... surely you remember it is quite a distance to reach the city."

Tony made a face. "Yeah, but as I recall, based on what madness is in that jungle, I'd prefer to be a bit uncomfortable and alive, thanks." The Wakandans laughed in response, and started walking towards the wall of trees that spread as far as Steve could see off to their side. He'd always been more of a city guy, only ever seeing parts of true wilderness throughout the war, having to walk through enemy territory countless times, and it had been uncomfortable then, so it wasn't like he had high hopes for this walk...

Then again, that was probably mostly due to having to keep a constant eye out for people trying to kill him and his team.

This time wasn't much difference, really, except the things that decided they wanted to kill him were better hidden and didn't get to shoot at him. He gave up trying to keep track of who pulled him out of harms way more, Tony- who, it turned out, had a stupid crazy understanding of both the animals in the area every time he asked and the traps the Wakandans had set, or T'Challa himself who elected to walk with them instead of going on ahead as Steve had almost expected him to. And who, for some reason, kept letting Tony point things out to him instead of doing so himself, a smile visible even under his cowl.

Still, it felt wonderful to be back on the ground, where he could actually move about on his own... he wondered how Tony could stand to fly like that, constantly. Then again, they all found their freedom in different ways. He couldn't really judge Tony by how he chose to achieve his. After all, sometimes it was hard to remember his friend didn't have actual powers of his own, that he was just brilliant enough to make himself into one.

The same could be said of both Natasha and Clint, but somehow Steve was always blown away when he remembered that of Tony... probably because he was one of the hardest hitters and most dangerous of the groups despite that fact.

He tried to ignore the jungle around him as they passed by what had to be hundreds of different types of poisonous snakes and insects, trying to concentrate on how beautiful the trees and surrounding landscape was. He wished he had brought anything to draw with, because as frightening as it was, it was one of the most stunning places he had ever been.

In fact, he managed to get lost in the beauty of it all for some time, then out of no where there was a glistening city in front of them, shining black and purple of obsidian, nothing at all like he'd been expecting anywhere in Africa to look like. Giant craving of panthers dominated the landscape, watching over everything with such life and personality, he was surprised they didn't turn to watch as they made their way down a hill, moving ever closer.

He had to pause and look for a few seconds as the Wakandans moved on, thankful the second he realized that Tony was still next to him, patiently waiting, or maybe looking as well until he was done. He didn't seem to be looking out over the city with a happy smile on his face. This place must be truly amazing if he enjoyed it so much.

He couldn't help but wonder about the last time the man had been here... according to every source he'd been able to find, including Tony himself, _no one _ was ever allowed into this city or even close. He had to wonder just what Tony had had to go through just to be able to see this amazing place for the first time. He wondered if he ever got tired of looking at it. He was sure he could look and draw this a thousand times and still find new ways to show its beauty, and he was certain that, if he didn't have the talent to do so, Tony did have the eye to see... he'd never be able to create the things he had without it.

Tony bumped his shoulder with his own metallic one and gestured to follow them after a few moments when he could finally pull himself away from the view and he couldn't help but obey. He couldn't say what drew him forward into the city, the beauty he was hoping was reflected within of the light glinting off of Tony's caramel eyes, begging him to keep watching. And he took everything in that he could.

Nothing grew dull like t sometimes did in the city. If anything, as they strode by the magnificent carvings they seemed to be brighter, more carefully handled. They actually made the city seem to be alive in and of itself. No one walked the street other than the group of five as they made their way to the large building the sprawled in the center of it all.

T'Challa's eyes continues to meet with his through the entire journey, watching and waiting for every reaction, seeming to brighten every time he stopped just to admire, taking heart in having someone else taking in the beauty of his city for the first time. As Tony had said, he was surely the first he;d ever seen reacting in such way. Steve could see that, and see how proud he was of everything he gave his life to protect, and felt his admiration for the man grow.

He could see everything that had ever been poured into him when he became Captain America come to life in this man, for these people, for everything he was for them, That was what he had always achieved to be, and always hoped that he was. He hoped T'Challa realized what he was to these people to his country. He hoped he cherished it.

* * *

**T**

Tony was thankful for the faceplate that covered his expression since he couldn't help but watch Steves reaction to everything they passed and experienced. He seemed surprisingly shocked when the others showed up out of nowhere and completely awestruck when he saw the city for the first time.

So much so, in fact, that even when his faceplate was up, he didn't waste the energy to be careful not to let himself get caught watching the man. T'Challa and more likely than not, the entire community of Wakanda knew he was hopelessly in love with him. Even after all the time that had passed between the when he'd been there before,it had to be obvious, and the since the people had little to nothing to hide, they had to know.

T'Challa, naturally, was watching him through it all, trying to hide his unending smile behind his mask. It may have been the first time they had met, but he was enough like his father had been that Tony never once felt uneasy around him. Actually, on the walk back to the city, T'Challa never once tried to tell him about any of the animals of machinery surrounding them, even if Tony had to stop Steve much like T'Chaka had stopped him what seemed like yesterday just to show and tell him what they were. He was surprised at how much he remembered, even as distracted as he had been.

T'Challa obviously was equally intrigued by the expression as Steve looked at things... The Captain couldn't help it, he just had such an open, honest face. He didn't seem to intimidate the Wakandans as they showed up, which was next to impossible until they got to know one another.

Tony wasn't surprised. He wasn't very intimidating, really, no matter what he seemed to think. Inside, he was still the small little scrap of a man that he used to be, even if he was now the man he'd always been meant to be. He had always been endearing, somehow the other way to Tony, even if now he was hotter than hell. It very nearly wasn't fair to the normal human population of the earth. He wasn't sure which he preferred, both were just as amazing as the other. After all they were the same person, it was hard to tell anymore.

It wasn't as strange meeting T'Challa in person after all the time they had spent as friends as he had thought it might be, which was great, really... that would have made everything awkward. Instead, they had the same, easy air between them as when there was a computer closing the distance they were separated by. Maybe it was a Wakandan thing, he didn't know, but he sure as hell appreciated it.

More than anything, it was that Tony knew T'Challa was watching Steve for any sort of sign he remembered anything... according to him, the method they had used seventy years ago wasn't completely flawless...well, it was for what it was built for. To make everyone forget someone existed, sure... but once the person was gone, it was expected that they stay gone. But with Tony and Steve always around the other and as deep as Tony felt their connection had managed to grow back then, the theory was there was potential to pick apart the block in Steves mind, somehow.

For some reason, the Panther felt that Steve had a strong enough mind to be able to handle it all, and agreed to plot some way to help break it. Neither were sure it would even work, of course, it was only a theory... but the was Steve would react to some things Tony said and did nothing but help that theory.

Still, the man was bound to want to see himself and try to judge if they had a chance at it. He was a scientist, after all, it only made sense he would want to study they effects of a previously unseen experiment. He made a note in the back of his mind to get Bruce and T'Challa together at some point... they would adore each other, especially with how calm the taller man was. But then, that might lose him his science bro... But that would mean dragging the Panther away from his kingdom... he was positive the man wouldn't be too keen on that, even less about letting him in his kingdom with his condition.

He wouldn't hold it against him, of course, no Wakandan would, but that didn't mean he was willing to put themselves in that position unless it was necessary... which, given everything Wakanda was, wasn't ever likely to happen. If it did, it was a good bet that the world was probably going to end.

He almost wished that they could take the time up to T'Challa's home to wander around and show Steve more of the city... there would be time for it later, and he remembered the layout of it all, so they would be able to wander, but it would be better to rest first. It was oddly reminiscent of the last time he was there. Maybe if anyone who remembered him were still alive, he wouldn't have been so willing to rush to the building. Well, that and the heat.

In the forest, it had been pleasant, but out in the open air, the sun was horrible. At least people here were smart enough to be inside. He wasn't very much looking forward with the heat... somehow he'd managed to forget about that part. Stupid Africa.

* * *

**Ok, the next one should be up and be at least as long as this one on Friday, as it normal. If ****you feel like it, you guys should let me know if you like the idea of having two chapters a week, as I'm still unsure if I will continue doing it. Hope you all enjoyed. **

**Second half written while slightly drunk, I'm blaming that. Whiskey makes it easy to write, for some reason. I might edit this part out, but I'm not overly sure right now. Also, Achievement Hunter made me start saying Yolo... dammit Ray. **


	17. Surmise

**And second chapter I'm starting this week. Because, you know, figured I might as well start this one at the same time... well, mostly just the AN and song thing I enjoy doing until I have the other one written. Thanks everyone for reading and enjoying, hope you guys enjoy this chapter. Posted earlier in the day because I have plans tonight, just wanted to get it up before I forgot. Enjoy, guys. **

** Good thing about writing in all of my free time, I'm actually catching up on the podcasts I listen to.**

_"Haunted by the memories of things I'll never see." _Watch It Crash- Streetlight Manifesto

* * *

Steve was so happy to get inside. He hadn't realized exactly how hot it was until the cool of the open building hit his skin. He felt bad for Tony... he was sure the suit had some kind of cooling system, but still, walking miles in a suit of metal in the middle of the day, in Africa of all places... that must have been absolutely brutal, given how he was panting when he finally took the armour off. T'Challa just gave him a look that clearly read "I told you so" as soon as he pulled his own mask off. Tony just glared back at his friend.

He had to wonder, though, after seeing how the two behaved with one another if he was the only one that didn't get alone with Tony right off the bat. Sure, Coulson and Tony snapped at one another, but it was obvious it was more friendly than anything, and Fury obviously trusted the man. It was hard to hate someone you trusted.

Truthfully, Steve was a bit worried about the others back in New York... of course, they could manage to feed themselves and weren't likely to burn that much down or anything, but looking at how they had all acted when Tony had been one for a few hours, it was hard to imagine what they would do for a week or two on their own. He was sure Tony feared for his Tower... hopefully he locked down his lab, because Steve was pretty sure Clint might end up getting himself killed by some of the things he had down their without supervision. Or else he got Bruce to watch over it for him... that would probably be the smart idea. Clint wasn't stupid enough to try to piss off Bruce.

Well, he hoped he wasn't. It would be a shame to be called back just to help calm a pissed off Hulk down, but Tony would be the one able to do just that.

He shook his head and looked around the cool room with mild interest. Other than plants, the room was pretty empty, clean. It was a lot more elegant than many of the buildings he'd seen in his life. He'd have to find something to draw with at some point... it would be an absolute tragedy to not be able to put this beautiful place down on paper.

T'Challa silently gestured for them to follow him still as he led them through the building, coming to a stop in front of a narrow door before turning to Steve and gesturing him in. He looked over to Tony before he made any moves.

"Go ahead and get yourself set up and relax a bit... it gets pretty hot during the day here, and I think T'Challa and I have some things to talk about. We shouldn't be too hard to find if you need either of us."

T'Challa nodded, smiling. "Do not be afraid to explore my home. Though I might warn you about going into the city without myself or Tony. It would be quite easy to become lost, and my people are nervous about you being here to begin with."

Steve just nodded, wanting to get Tony to stay with him a bit longer. It was strange and he wasn't sure what to do here. He watched them as they walked away and sighed. He looked at the door a little sullenly for a moment before opening it. Really, it was beautiful. That was all there was to be said about it... it seemed to be a common theme in this place. Again, it was pale and clean, devoid of any sort of personality. He guessed it made sense, it was a guest room, after all.

He walked over to the bed, just a touch smaller than his own back at tower. The sheets looked slightly rough and shiny, but as he skimmed his hand over them, they felt almost like silk. He set his pack down with a thud and collapsed onto the thankfully sturdy bed. He sank into the softness of it and let his eyes drift closed, basking in the cool that radiated from the walls, thankful that the beds were comfortable.

It wouldn't have been a problem if they hadn't been, of course, but he found that he really enjoyed the soft warmth and comfort of a soft bed. He hadn't had many nice things growing up, and certainly not in the army, so it was surprising how quickly he'd gotten used to it. He didn't really feel bad about it, of course. He decided he'd earned it, since he rarely ever actually got a chance to sleep in one, and then usually not for long.

He wanted to go find Tony.

But at the same time, he was worried it might be a little weird... they had just spent hours together... kind of, and he had said that he and his friend needed to talk. Most likely about some theory or another, and he figured he'd just be getting in their way. He was confident he could stay out of Tony's way, but the Panther? Not so sure. Besides, his muscled hurt and he could tell he'd be sore before too long, which was rare...

Then, so was clinging for his life to a flying object for hours then going on a hike in the middle of a hot forest.

He flipped himself over onto his back and studied the room from the more comfortable position. There really wasn't much besides a desk and table off in one corner, the bed and end table and dresser, but there was a rather large window he could easily stare out of from the bed, giving an amazing overlook of their surroundings and another door opened to show a washroom.

He thought about it for a second before he forced himself up, and absent-mindedly started the porcelain covered shower for himself before he had a chance to fall asleep.

The water was cool and just ending on uncomfortable, but he didn't even wanting to consider it being any hotter... he still felt like the core of him was radiating heat for his walk. Still, he kept it short, and was drying himself and pulling on clean clothing before it could chill him too much. He stared at his door again, considering.

As much as he would have loved to just fall back into bed and sleep for a few hours, something in him was pulling at him to find Tony, to not be left alone in this place. It wasn't something that would make him uneasy, or like he was about to be ambushed... just the need to feel alone again. It felt silly and pointless, but he knew it would dissipate as soon as he found the other man. It always did. Both options seemed almost equally attractive. Pity he couldn't have both.

But Tony didn't usually sleep at night, so he doubted he'd ever even have a chance to convince him to in the middle of the day, much less with him. Still, it was good to have dreams. Or, well, hoped, he supposed. Dreams implies a bit too much about the situation. A situation he was sure he'd get over if he just gave himself enough time to. But, then... for now, it was comfortable, something he didn't want to have to deal without. He wasn't sure when he'd be ok with letting it go, but he knew it wouldn't be anytime in the foreseeable future. It was probably one of the only things keeping him from going insane, if he was honest with himself.

And it wasn't like it was doing any harm. Tony didn't really seem to mind... notice might be a better word for it. Maybe it was just him trying to fill the hole that had been in his heart where Peggy had been, but when he was around the other man, he sometimes had a hard time even remembering he should be feeling the loss, and since they had become closer, it didn't hurt. It was just there, a thought always poking at him that he could pay no mind to.

Biting his lip, he reached for the door. There would always be time to sleep later, even if it went against every part of his training as a soldier that yelled at him to get some sleep while he could. It was always odd to ignore that part of him because it had been what he was for so long. A Heroes life wasn't much different in the respect of lacking sleep, the difference being he would always have a home to go to, always had a place he could belong.

Maybe that's why the pull to Tony was so strong... he was away from him home, but at least a small part of it was here.

He knew he had been thankful for his ability to remember direction and the layout of buildings almost perfectly one or two times more than he was now, but none came to mind. It didn't really help him Find the two any more quickly than he was likely to without it, but it did give him a slight edge of always knowing where "base" was, and could always make his way back to his starting point when it was obvious the current direction was pointless.

However, the house was a rather smaller than it looked, more open, so he didn't really have to rely on that method as he had needed to back when he was learning the tower. The both of them ended up being sprawled on the stone floor, writing out countless numbers and symbols on sheets of paper spread about them carelessly, speaking softly to one another every now any then before finding more room to jot something down. It was so... relaxed, so still. It was something Steve wasn't used to seeing Tony in the center of. It was magical, even if Tony would have hated if the term applied to him

He stood at the edge of the room and watched, almost afraid to breath and break the calm the surrounded the two.

"You realize you may come and join us, Captain." He jumped roughly at the sudden noise, and met T'Challa's amused gaze, smiling gently at the man.

"Sorry, just didn't want to get in the way."

Tony shrugged. " You're usually a decent person to share lab space, don't try to touch shit you shouldn't and all that. You'll be fine."

Steve smiled to himself and allowed his body to move closer to his friend, weaving his way through the maze of paper, careful not to step on any of them, for which he earned a nod of approval from T'Challa.

He had to look around for a moment for somewhere to sit he wouldn't be in the way when T'Challa shifted enough to give him some room. He would have to be right in the middle, probably in Tony's way, but at the Wakandans' gesture, he didn't have much of a choice and gently placed himself down, trying not to touch the other man as much as his body pleaded for him to.

He relaxed when Tony leaned onto him to get him to stop fidgeting, completely missing the other man rolling his eyes at him. He didn't miss the mischievous smile on T'Challa, though. He narrowed his eyes curiously at the man, who instead of acknowledging it just turned back to work with the same smile.

Steve was curios, really, and wanted to know what was going on in the mans head, but he had to admit to himself that he was too tired to put any effort into it. And the man damn well seemed to know that. He had to wonder why Tony wasn't as sleepy as he was, or T'Challa, for that matter. Then, T'Challa lived here, and Tony didn't really sleep, so it wasn't some huge mystery he'd have to figure out.

So, instead of questioning anything, he let his head fall against Tony and watched silently was the two went in with their work, trying not to see the soft smile tugging at the corners of Tony's lips off to the side of his vision as he leaned back against the man. He was sure it meant nothing, and maybe if he could convince himself of that, his heart would stop trying to get the mans attention by beating harder and louder.

He tried to force his breath to even out, get his heart to slow. All that did was make him more drowsy. He let himself drift into a half sleep as he studied the paper, trying to make patterns of the half written out theories and symbols, not understanding much of what was being said... in fact, at some point, he realized that the two weren't even speaking any sort of English anymore. It didn't really make much difference to him. Not as if he'd be able to understand either way.

He couldn't tell how long it was before he was being urged to his feet, which he stubbornly refused to follow, perfectly content leaning against Tony's warmth... until that warmth disappeared. His eyes snapped open -he hadn't even realized he'd closed them- and was met with the sight of amused deep brown eyes staring into his. Even half asleep his breathing hitched and he tried not to let himself blink.

Tony was the first one to pull back, away from him, and he couldn't help the small whine he could feel grow in the back of his throat. If Tony noticed it as the sound escaped, he didn't say anything about it. He blinked and this time let himself be pulled to his feet by the smaller man, only barely hearing what he was saying.

"Come on Cap, help me out. It'll take a bit to get used to the heat, but that doesn't mean you should just go around sleeping everywhere, someone might just take advantage of you." He could feel the lean man chuckle as he was dragged around the building, back to a more familiar territory, only managing to mumble nonsensically in response. Nowhere had this right to be so hot, so sleepy. Even the cold was hot... it didn't make sense, but it didn't have to, not to his tired mind.

He relaxed instantly as soon as he touched the soft sheets and sank back into his bed Tony had led him too, unconsciously clutching to Tony and dragging him down with him. He felt Tony tense... then, surprisingly, relax next to him.

"Not exactly sleepy, you know." Tony's voice was a little muffled by a pillow, but Steve was close enough to understand the words.

He just shrugged, and Tony sighed, but stayed where he was. If Steve could process it, he would have been thrilled. He was out cold a few seconds later. When he woke up, Tony wasn't in the room.

* * *

**T**

Tony had stayed in the room a few hours after Steve had fallen asleep, just thinking. He forced his mind to stay on the current problem at hand, the one he was busy working on with T'Challa, trying not to be distracted by the man laying next to him. Mostly, he was successful. It wasn't like he'd never had to work on something while Steve was out or anything. The whole bed thing was a new development, of course, but he didn't mind.

He absent-mindedly stroked Steves hair as the larger man slept, silently thanking T'Challa again for deciding -all on his own, thankfully- to push the two together. Scheming, brilliant bastard that he was. He'd actually wondered if the man pushing at them would work when T'Challa had informed him of his intentions to do so, and it really had, much to both of their relief, he was sure.

Tony might have only recently remembered he loved the Captain, but for years his friend had insisted he loved someone. Not quite as blatant as that, of course, and Tony had always just written it off as some weird Wakandan "There's always someone out there for everyone if you just wait for the other to enter your life" things, so it had never mattered. Obviously, it had to his friend, and he was being damn insistent now that he help them both in the most obvious way he possible could. Just for kicks.

After the heat started to ebb slightly as the sun sank, glistening on the edge of the forest, he stood. He really wanted to stay, of course... being around Steve, even an unconscious Steve, was normal. He liked normal. He didn't have nearly enough of it in his life, it turned out. But still, he had never been one able to just _stay_ in one place without something to do for hours on end. It was starting to drive him a little crazy... he was sure Steve would understand. He hoped so... he didn't want him to feel abandoned or anything. He already felt a bit guilty for leaving him to nap to talk to T'Challa earlier.

Not that that had worked, but that wasn't the point. Turned out Steve hadn't needed the space Tony thought he might want. Again, he didn't exactly mind that he didn't. He wondered if he'd ever get tired of being around Steve... he doubted it. The man was too damn comfortable for his own good, and he seemed to know it, based on how much time he insisted on spending with him.

He smirked to himself happily as he made his way through the narrow halls, happy that they hadn't changed... because that would have been so unnerving... sure, it had been years for everyone else, but buildings still just shouldn't go around changing in a few short weeks. Time wasn't exactly on his side with that argument, but it didn't matter.

Tony tensed, suddenly remembering something he'd been meaning to do before he'd left that had completely managed to slip his mind somewhere along the way...

Pepper had no clue where he was. And it wasn't like she needed to know his every little move, and be involved with everything going on in his life. He wasn't her boss anymore, and despite what some of the tabloids considered to be fact, they had never been romantic. Sure, he loved her for the way she could put up with him, but not... he couldn't love her like he loved Steve. She knew what to expect of him in the settings of friendship, but in a relationship? No, she would want him to change in ways he would never be able to bring himself to. And she would have every right to, he supposed... but he wouldn't be able to, and it would only end in heartbreak. He'd known that from the second he'd become Iron Man, and so had she.

But that didn't mean she wouldn't be pissed at him for just vanishing on her like he had. A pissed Pepper was never something he enjoyed. He pulled out his phone, pleased to find no missed calls from her, only two from Happy, who, to be fair, always called him for some meaningless reason or another... he wouldn't get as angry at him for not answering or calling him back immediately, much less telling him about his plans. His job was to watch out for Pepper, now, and he had taken to that instantly. He had always liked her quite a bit. He took a moment to consider calling her now and get it over with.

He decided against it, in the end, not really feeling up to being yelled at over the phone. Instead, he put a short "On a Avengers trip, be back in a few weeks if you need me." and did something he was sure no one would ever consider him capable of doing... he dropped his phone off in the guest room he'd been given years ago and left it.

He liked talking to her, sure, but she didn't seem to accept some of the choices he made and honestly, him putting it off would only make it worse when he actually had to deal with it, but it was a risk he was willing to take for the moment... if running from that for a few hours made him a coward, then the system so was messed up. He'd rather fight aliens. He could at least shoot at them. He doubted it would be appreciated if he were to do so with his friend, even if it was just in the friendly way.

And with that, he decided he was spending far too much time with the wonder twin assassins. And maybe Thor, just a little. This vacation had been a good idea...

Except he was just as likely to pick up things like that around Wakandans as he was around any Shield agents. He might need to find new friends. He doubted he'd be able to find any as likely to put up with him at all, though.

He tried to shake the thought out of his mind. He'd just have to make a conscious effort not to pick up bad habits from them, he already had plenty of his own to deal with as it was, thank you very much.

There was a deep chuckle behind him. He turned to meet the shining eyes of the very friend who's entire fault this was in the first place.

"What I wouldn't give to be able to just sift through your thoughts for five minutes." T'Challa paused, seeming to think it through a little more deeply. "I'd probably go insane before I got too far, but it would be a blast while it lasted."

Tony swatted at him absently. "I'm not that disjointed, asshole. Besides, right now, all you'd hear would be my questionable list of friends."

T'Challa lifted an eyebrow. "Should I be getting worried?"

He smirked. "Na... you've been around too much. Looks like you're stuck, pal. Just make sure not to shoot at me or anything, ok? Trying to break a habit before it's too well formed."

T'Challa paused for half a step, longer legs quickly regaining the short distance he'd lost. "On second thought, I might wish to stay clear of your mind after all."

"Good choice."

* * *

**This chapter has been brought to you mostly due to the song "I Burn" by Jeff Williams, the ten hour addition! Seriously, I've somehow spent hours listening to it and not minding. Just not really a song I'd put lyrics into this story for, I guess. Still, deserves a shout out. That, and because of fires around it's so smokey I don't care to do anything outside when not necessary. I mean really, it's unnerving to go out in the middle of the night, look up and see the moon is bright orange due to the smoke.**

** Might have another chapter up Tuesday, if not, Wednesday. Sorry, have plans that might offset writing a day or two. **


	18. Posit

**New chapter, alright. Have a rough sketched out plan for the next three or so chapters, which is actually kind of a first for this story. Also, it's so much easier to do split PoV, so that's usually how I'm going to be going about this, so you know. Still keeping it mostly in Steve when I can though. **

** RawR: thanks for picking up errors, I try not to make them and all. Normally better about it, but in these stories, I do write in the middle of the night of very few hours of sleep as well, and generally don't bother going back through to fix mistakes(Unless reallllly bad). I'm lazy like that, heh. Perhaps I need a Beta reader. /shrug. For now, its if anything is bad enough, I'll go through and fix, if not, one day when bored I might do it for shits and giggles.**

** Hope you guys enjoy.**

_"Take my hand tonight, don't think about tomorrow." _Don't Think About Tomorrow- by Simple Plan.

* * *

Ok, so maybe Steve could admit he as in a little over his head when it came to Tony. Because really, nothing about him exactly screamed 'Gay'...but Steve couldn't see him as the type of person who cared one way or another. But it was the not knowing for sure that made him hesitant to try anything. It was kind of driving him nuts. Sure, the man had been being extremely nice to him lately... almost impossibly so, but that didn't mean he had a thing for the super soldier, really. It just meant that he was trying to be a good friend.

But Steve didn't want him to be like that when he was just trying to be a friend. It kept drawing him closer, made him fall even harder, and it was starting to feel impossible. He didn't know what to do about it, and he didn't really have anyone to talk to about it. Normally, he'd go to Bucky... he trusted the man not to freak out at him... but Bucky was long lost to the world, and his closest friend now was the problem.

Maybe he could talk to T'Challa. Tony always did say how the man helped him work through problems, though he probably meant scientific problems more than personal. Maybe it would be worth feeling like an idiot for a little bit. Besides... the man had been friends with Tony for quite a long time, it seemed. If anyone _could_ help, he'd probably be the one that could.

Still, it wasn't really his style... he preferred to figure things out for himself. But he'd be an idiot not to get the help that he could.

He groaned and forced himself out of the pile of sheets that surrounded him, carefully looking around to make sure he was really alone before standing up. He wasn't sure why he felt there might be someone else there... probably just habit from spending so much time with the team. Or simply being in a strange place. Whatever. It didn't matter, really. It was difficult to get up... not as difficult as it had been the day before when they landed, the air still cold and sharp. It was refreshing, not something he was used to, living in New York, but still, pleasant.

As soon as he finished blinking himself awake, it was surprising how quickly he managed to wake up. And happened to be starving... he really wished he'd been awake enough to explore a little more. That would make finding the kitchen this morning so much easier. He wasn't really sure if he could manage to find his way back to the front room with such a daze he'd been in.

He didn't have to worry about it... He should have known that Tony wouldn't just abandon him like that, especially knowing how much he tended to eat, especially in the mornings. He'd been awake maybe two minutes, staring around the room, trying to figure out what to do before there was a quick succession of knocks on the wooden door.

He moved to answer it, but it slipped open under his fingers, a completely unashamed Tony waiting with a slight smirk, fully awake. Probably hadn't slept at all, naturally. Exactly the person he wanted to see... and the one he probably shouldn't before talking to someone about it. Oh well, couldn't be helped. He fought down a blush, but let himself smile at the smaller man. Tony smiled back with a raised eyebrow.

"Figured you'd be hungry."

Steves stomach growled before he could answer, and he shrugged. They did live together, it was obvious the man would know how often he had to eat.

Tony laughed silently, shaking his head softly. " That's what I thought. Alright, come on." Steve stayed silent as he followed the other man, not really because there was nothing to say, just he was still too tired to talk. Tony didn't seem to mind, seeming to be a bit lost in his own thoughts. That wasn't anything new, either, so it was a comfortable silence between them as they made their way through the halls, trying to figure out where they were without actively thinking about it. He was lost pretty quickly.

But Tony knew where they were, so that didn't really matter. Before too long, a strong hand pushed him down into a chair, and a plate of... something was put in front of him. It... didn't exactly look good. He glanced at Tony, who just gave him an amused stare. Of course he wasn't eating any... that would have made him feel better about eating it himself, but it was fair enough, knowing how Tony was when it came to really any kind of food. But he did trust him... it was Tony, after all.

He sighed again and forced himself to eat some of the food... and found it was delicious. Tony laughed at his expression, and he glared back, hiding his own smile. Not very well, given Tony's quick wink.

"So, think we need to make Bruce learn how to cook this too?"

Steve nodded with a grin.

After breakfast, Steve expected Tony to go back to working with T'Challa, fully expecting to be relaxing inside doing nothing much for the entire day. Instead, Tony immediately dragged him out of T'Challas home and into the city. It wasn't anything Steve was used to or could have prepared for. It was just so... calm. Nothing in this time he'd seen had ever been this calm, so peaceful. He actually didn't think there was even a place like this in his own time. Well, other than here, he supposed.

Even under the peace of it all, he could tell that the people were fighters, ready to switch from the completely relaxed lifestyle to full on war in a heartbeat. He supposed it made sense, them having a warrior King modeled after a Panther, but it wasn't exactly what he considered normal

He imagined that the other Avengers would get on amazingly here, even if he agreed with Tony that it was probably better not to bring Bruce of Clint for perfectly logical reasons. Clint would have them in war mode before the first day was out if they didn't know him, and they would have Bruce in his simply because of the sense of readiness that rolled off of them in waves.

Tony stopped and talked to a few of them, laughing like they were old friends, them completely comfortable around him. It was pretty fantastic, seeing as none of them were looking for him to say anything, not looking for him to be Captain America. Just another person. He hadn't realized how much he missed that.

Sure he got it when he was around the others, but they weren't exactly...normal. None of them were, and that was the only reason they could see him as him. These people just _did_. Tony seemed to thrive in the same feeling. He had to wonder what it was like, being born with everyone watching your every move, waiting for you to fail. At least he had known what it was like not to be the center of everyone's attention before the serum, it was no wonder Tony had some of the personality quirks he'd gotten used to that had put them at each others throats early on. The real wonder was why he wasn't more messed up.

Still, he seemed to do great when he wasn't under that sort of pressure, just as great as when he was. Pleasant to see him being himself around other people. Not that he'd ever tell him that. That would just be a bit strange.

As nice as it was to constantly be with Tony, he really wanted to have that conversation with T'Challa, and he couldn't exactly do that when Tony was around.

They finally headed back to the center of the city when the sun was just starting to come up over the trees and it was next to impossible to find any shade. Even the locals left unprotected areas, and he could feel the drowsiness start to seep into him again. He refused to give into it like he had the day before and pushed it away. Still, he was grateful to be back at T'Challa's, letting the cold air settle on him like a cloak did a lot to wake him up.

Tony didn't eat lunch, either. That made Steve a little worried, but he was used to Tony enough to know it was normal, so he didn't bother putting too much thought into it.

He finally got a chance to talk to the Panther when Tony went up after lunch to take a shower... as much as he wanted one himself, it was probably one of the best chances he had. Actually, he was considering trying another time in exchange for the cool water, but T'Challa happened to be walking through the room next to him, so the choice was sort of made for him.

The man stopped before he could think of anything to say, turning and giving him an expectant look. It was a little creepy, but it obviously wasn't meant to rush him. Which was nice... He couldn't really think of a way to phrase it in a way that wouldn't make him look like an idiot.

He finally gave up on trying to say anything that would hake sense, and met T'Challa's golden eyes. "What do I do?" T'Challa lifted an eyebrow, waiting for more of an explanation. Steve felt he was just being humored. "With Tony... It's... kind of weird, we're friends and everything, but there feels like there should be... more. And I want that, but... I just don't know what to do."

T'Challa gave a small, patient smile. "Straight for it, I see... none of the whole 'I have this friend' nonsense? Well, just as well." Steve blushed and the panther folded his legs and sat on the stone floor gracefully, waiting for Steve to follow suit before he continued. "I can not place myself in you or Tony's shoes, as much as I wish at times I could." He shook his head. "Regardless, All I am able to tell you, follow what your heart feels is best. It's never wrong... It just doesn't always have all the answers. Sometimes you have to take a risk. Even if it doesn't go how you wish for it to, it's never wrong."

There was that glint in his eyes again.

Steve shook his head again. "But that's the reason I need your help... I don't want to, I don't know, overstep myself. I don't want to lose a friend like this."

T'Challa shrugged. "Why do you think it would ruin anything?"

Steve jumped slightly, not really in shock, he just hadn't been expecting a question. " Well, not everyone is thrilled to find out that their friend has a thing for them... I don't know how he'd take it." who he was talking about wasn't even a question to wither of them.

T'Challa smiled gently. "Perhaps he would, perhaps not... If you just sit and do nothing, however, you can't expect anything to change."

Steve paused for a second. It made sense, of course, but still. He wasn't sure what he'd expected, but even as the other man stood and left, he didn't feel as if he'd made any progress on his problem. He could respect T'Challa wanting him to choose for himself and everything, help him grow, whatever he was trying to do, but it would have been nice to have a straightforward answer for once.

Of course, it was nice to have someone else tell him things he had already more or less decided on... it didn't make deciding to do anything any easier, but at least someone else agreed.

Tony was back twenty minutes later, hair still damp and refusing to lie flat, looking a lot less tired than he had been. It certainly didn't make it easier for him to say anything. He shoved it to the back of his mind, deciding he needed more time to think about it before he made any rash actions. He was a Tactician, after all. It's what they did... planned. And Tony wasn't going anywhere.

It turned out that his change in behavior was obvious even to Tony, though the man didn't say anything. Instead, he dragged him around even more, finding things that would cheer him up, constantly making him laugh. It made him wonder if he even needed to be worried. Even if Tony didn't return his feelings, it was, after all, still Tony. It wasn't like anything would change... the man just didn't care enough about what others thought to put up with making things change when they worked.

T'Challa wasn't really helping him to not think about it, giving him conspiratorial looks every time the three of them were in a room together, watching them, not bothering to be subtle.

He'd imagined someone named "The Black Panther" would be a little bit more stealthy.

It was enough that Tony actually noticed. He could tell by the look he would get in his eye, speculating, every time T'Challa started. Steve just made careful to look completely innocent, like he didn't even notice how the man would get.

And to his credit, T'Challa never really did anything to point towards him specifically being the subject he was trying to hide from their friend. Tony must not have thought he had any part in it, because he didn't say anything to him about it either.

He almost managed to completely forget about the whole thing when Tony managed to find some art supplies for him to mess around with. After that, he was the one dragging Tony around. And if he was perfectly capable of finding his way around the city by then, well, Tony didn't need to know that. He didn't seem to mind in the slightest, except when he insisted on going out into the jungle. It was so beautiful that he couldn't help it, it wasn't like anywhere he'd ever been before. Every time, Tony caved and led the way through the trees.

Otherwise, he was perfectly happy to follow Steve where ever around the area and stretch out where Steve decided they should be that day, seeming to enjoy being able to stretch out where ever Steve had decided they should be that day and pretend to nap while Steve drew. He was able to forget that life kept going while they were there and jumped about a foot on the fifth day they were there, already set up on the side of a hill that gave an amazing view out to the plains they had landed on, and all the trees in between when a high pitched noise rang from something at Tony's wrist.

Tony frowned, sitting up from where he was laying and looked down at the small device on his wrist... Steve had thought it was a watch. It continues to give off a high pitched shrill. Tony sighed and forced himself to his feet.

"Come on, Cap. Looks like show time." The noise stopped, and Steve had about half a second to think before he took off sprinting back to his room where his suit was, Tony a step behind, easily keeping up with him despite his longer legs... Whoever thought that the billionaire was less in shape than the rest of the team obviously didn't know him. It wasn't that Steve was happy about having to leave, nothing of the sort... but the quicker they got to their fight, the less likely it was that Amora could escape again. He was pretty thrilled to see Iron Man waiting for him as soon as he got back outside. He could always count on Tony.

* * *

**T**

Unsurprisingly, within an hour of both Tony and T'Challa putting their full efforts into it, they'd come up with a workable solution to powdering enough Vibranium in such a way that it would still be effective. It was a quicker process than molding the ore and it proved to be more quite effective in testing. They really didn't need to stay more than a day or two, once he had weaponized it into capsules and installed them... but that didn't mean he said anything about it to Steve.

Instead, he did the work while the man slept and dragged him around the city, and talked to the people. He missed seeing all of the faces of friends he had made here years ago, but it was still nice. It didn't take any of the Wakandans long to warm up to either of them, but Steve was still a bit tense around anyone who would come up to talk to them. Usually, it ended up with Tony talking with them while Steve listened in with interest, infrequently adding something that always made them all smile. Tony really didn't mind, and neither did any one else, thankfully. In the US, it would have been considered odd behavior.

T'Challa didn't say anything to Steve either about being finished, completely content in just having his friend around. During the day when they were expected to be "Working" they just messed around with little things for around the whole of Wakanda. That was really more difficult than working on their actual problem they had come there for, seeing as Wakanda was still the most advanced city in the world... even if the rest of the world wasn't aware of that fact.

The first real day they were there, Tony was able to drag Steve around, and show him everything he'd missed on the short walk in the day before. Steve seemed to adore it, every one of the buildings captivating him.

Steve wanted to go back out into the forest for some reason, something Tony was wholeheartedly against... especially if it were only the two of them. It sounded like it had a lot of potential and everything, and it wasn't like Steve was going to murder him , but something else out there might decide to. Steve won, of course. As soon as he smiled and flashed his puppy dog eyes, Tony had no choice in the matter. He convinced a few of his friends to guard them from jungley things.

Steve was absolutely fascinated with everything, in the jungle especially. Tony wished he'd remembered to grab something for him to draw with. He remembered even making a mental note to do just that, too. Stupid memory. Still, it was pretty great to just watch his excitement. Of course, it was better when he finally thought to ask T'Challa for things for Steve to draw on. It took him far too long for him to think of that. The first day, after they got back was the only real concern... he had left the man for roughly an hour so he could go shower, and when he came back, Steve was a bit withdrawn, nervous almost. Tony didn't force him to talk about it, concentrating fully on cheering him up. That didn't take long, and Steve was soon more or less back to normal.

After three days, Steve actually started to relax more, completely at home wandering around, and no one batted an eye at him, something he couldn't get away with back in the States. Being used to that, Tony knew how amazing it was not to have people constantly watching... to be fair, Steve was used to it was, but he'd had to live with it for his entire life, so it was fair to say it was nicer for him than it was for Steve. Still, the other man did seem to really enjoy it.

He tried not to think too much about how the other Avengers would be doing in the tower unsupervised... well, kind of. They did have Jarvis watching them, and Pepper was sure to come by at some point, and would more than likely lay into them if they destroyed too much. Something about bad press, probably. It probably wouldn't help the others that he was still actively avoiding a phone call from her by strategically not being near his phone any time she called, sticking with answering her in text mode while it was the middle of the night for them. So far, it was working out well enough. She knew the method he was using well enough to know she should probably just let it go until she could be face to face, and by then she would lose a lot of the anger driving her.

As it turned out, she wasn't as angry about it as he'd expected her to be... apparently it was hard for her to get mad at a friend for taking a vacation without warning when said friend was usually saving the world and almost dying in said fights. He wasn't complaining by a long shot.

One of the only things to bother him about Wakanda was that T'Challa was being secretive about something. He probably thought he was being sly and hiding it well, but the man was as open a book to him as he had been to the mans father. Well, not quite that bad, he couldn't tell what he was hiding, unfortunately, but it was bugging him. Every time he brought it up, T'Challa would look a bit guilty and find a way to slink off without saying anything on the subject. Annoyingly, he'd managed to narrow it down enough to know it was about Steve.

Which so wasn't fair. T'Challa was supposed to be his wing-man, he should know anything "Secret" about the man if his friend knew something. And it wasn't like he could just force him to tell him... cons of having super powered friends... he really wasn't up to testing T'Challa's Vibranium claws against the titanium alloy of his suit.

The fact that the two didn't act any differently towards one another didn't really help. At least some sort of reaction could help with making a hypothesis about what it was about... so either Steve really wasn't troubled by what it was or he didn't know T'Challa knew anything. Literally nothing could be done about and he hated it.

B y mid week, he decided the safest bet was to just ignore it and pretend like T'Challa was as sneaky as he thought himself to be. It was just so much less stressful that way. Every day he grew more tense, waiting for something to happen that would force them from this small secluded area. Steve didn't seem to have the same worries, which was nice. Personally, he could only put on the act of relaxing... Steve was able to actually relax. He needed it. Not that the rest of the world was content just to sit and wait until they were both ready to take it on... The peace didn't even last a full week.

He was just starting to sprawl out, taking a chance to relax when his alert went off. Steve immediately paused, pencil currently in his hand going still against the paper, both of them staring at the small device. _'Shit._' He had a feeling Steve wouldn't appreciate him vocalizing his thoughts, so he just shrugged and stood "Come one, Cap. Looks like it's showtime." The other man nodded and shot to his feet.

* * *

**Ok, well, finished in time, I suppose. Little more rushed than I wanted it to be, but I got home later than I expected Sunday, and really didn't feel like writing as much as I should have. Oh well, still got it up. Hope you guys enjoy and everything, thanks for reading. **

** Really getting tired of this smoke. **


	19. Trammel

** Ok, starting this before I can get a little gaming in Tuesday night. Hope you guys enjoyed last chapter and this one as well. Sorry last chapter didn't have any real specific times or anything, just because I have a few chapters mapped out, that was the easiest way to get through that one, since I wrote it quickly... my plans set me back longer than I thought that would, but I didn't feel like waiting til Wednesday to post it, so you know. **

_"I raise my flags and don my clothes, it's a revolution, I suppose." _Radioactive- Imagine Dragons.

* * *

A mountain of dirt rained down on them, Tony's speed in the suit the only reason the two other weren't buried as it fell. It came from no where and seemed to have startled Tony just as badly as it had Steve.

"What in the actual fuck...?" That was all that the man was able to say as he was swerving again, this time to barely avoid a smoking ball of flame that swept past them. Steve was sure that the Iron Man suit didn't take any damage, but the heat of it would have destroyed him the second it touched his less protected body. Tony's face plate looked at him and he could almost feel the worry radiating off of him. "Ok, I think we need to get you on the ground... you know, where there's cover from this bullshit." Steve just nodded.

As they neared the ground, it became clear that they weren't the first ones to the battle... thankfully, it looked like Thor was doing a good enough job distracting Skurge that they didn't have to worry about the two disappearing too quickly. Hopefully Tony had gotten whatever he'd needed to keep them there this time.

Tony hovered a few feet from the ground next to Hawkeye the second the dust cleared enough for him not to crash into the ground and dropped Steve before shooting off into the sky and setting off a round of missiles. Steve hit the ground at a run, already scanning the ground for Amora and the rest of his team. Clint nodded at him with a quick smile, but quickly moved back to focusing on his target.

Massive creatures weaved their way around them, serpentine and dove into the dirt like it was water, shooting fountains of dirt into the air each time they disappeared underground.

Nothing that big and distinctly Rhino-like should be able to move like that or _burrow_. It was just... unnerving. Steve threw his shield at one of the creatures, only to have it reflect off of its green hide back to him, the creature un-phased, seeming not to even notice it had been attacked. Black Widow was by his side in a heartbeat, tapping at her Com and waiting for him to nod before talking over the deafening rumble around them.

"Need fire to get at them, Cap. Go up like oil soaked rags, but nothing else seems to touch them." Well, that explained the fire that almost took him and Tony out in the sky. He nodded at her and pushed her out of the way as one charged them both. She didn't look back as they launched in separate directions.

Seeing as he didn't have the means to make or set anything on fire, it kind of limited his options on going after Skruge or Amora instead of the general crowd control... that was fine. Between Hawkeye igniting arrows, Tony having the ability to create fire in his suit and Thor's lightning, they had that taken care of enough that he didn't have to worry about it. He couldn't explain how grateful he was that since the first time, the two seemed to be avoiding populated human civilization. Of course, it made sense. These creatures wouldn't have been nearly as effective as they were if they had been forced into a city where they actually had to make sharp turns, or burrow their way down through layers of concrete in order to snuff out the flames as they were being enveloped.

Thor flew above him in a flash, lightning thundering down around him, fire bursting to life in small sections, sometimes moving, around him. He considered one of the small flames while running and set up an angle before throwing his shield at on of the beasts as it passed. The Vibranium of his shield naturally wasn't in the slightest effected by the flames, and didn't catch fire, but the air of it passing spread it just enough to catch the lumbering creature. It howled in fury and threw its massive head back and forth, trying to find what it was that was burning him or just trying to put it out, Steve wasn't sure.

He caught his shield again with a small smirk just as the thing lept, long serpentine tail bashing against the ground to gain more height than it's thick legs could give in, and dove headfirst into the ground, blunt, wide horn throwing rocks and dirt into the air as it sunk, much quicker than should have been possible.

He wanted to pause and study it, maybe try seeing how far he could follow it, but on a battlefield there was never time for that. He kept himself moving, careful to stay up and away from ahead that the beasts could maneuver through and stay out if their line of sight. Natasha seemed to be doing the same thing whenever he saw her, given that she really had no way to set the things on fire either. The most he saw of Hawkeye as he sprinted through volcanoes of rock and dirt was the occasional flaming arrow streaking past him. He never once worried he would himself get hit by one... Clint was far too good for that to even cross his mind.

More dirt flew into the air directly in front of him, and he was forced to dive to the side in order to just barely avoid the creature that burst out of the ground, heavy tail whipping around, striking him with enough force to send him flying a few feet. It didn't even notice him... which ended up being a damn good thing.

He hit the ground hard, all of the air evacuating his lungs at once, and it took him several seconds in order to fill them again. He breathed deeply, trying to figure out if he'd broken anything... everything felt in place, but he knew damn well he'd be pretty bruised for a while, even with how quickly he healed.

A flash of green appeared in the side of his vision, and a seductive smile leered at him when he turned to take a better stance against whatever it was. His gut twisted and he felt himself growing irrationally angry as Amora turned and sped through the rubble away from him, turning her head back to him every few feet, taunting him into following.

That look gave him pause for a moment... but he had been looking for her. It would be a stupid mistake now to let her get away when he was confident that he could take her. He tried shouting his coordinates over his radio in a vain hope that someone would come and back him up just in case, but he couldn't even hear his own voice over the surrounding noise.

He took off after her with a curse that would have done Tony proud, leaping over far more obstacles than the enchantress seemed to be dealing with, ignoring the huge flaming creatures as he passed them, not even noticing when he sprinted past Hulk trying to swing one of the things like a baseball bat at another of them as it charged, his entire mind completely focused on his target, wanting nothing more than to see the look on her face when he wiped that smile from it.

It didn't infuriate him in the same way that Tony ever had. It was more of a slow, angry burn he was used to associating with the Red Skull, or even Loki. The only time he'd ever felt more all-consuming rage was when a friend of his had been shot directly after the serum. He was sure that it had been Erskine that ignited that rage, but it just didn't sound right in his head.

_'Tony.' _ his mind whispered to him, but the thought of it, a flash of Tony kneeling in the middle of a street as people ran in terror as the man aimed calmly, blood pouring from him, something so clear he was sure he'd never seen, made him see red and he shoved the thought aside to make room for his anger as he sprinted into the crack in the side of a mountain. It opened itself into a canyon, wide and open to the sky, splitting off in several directions. That flash of green lured him, only barely visible in the shadows of the stone walls. He didn't keep track of all the different turns he made and how many times he was forced to switch directions, following pure instinct and what his eyes told him.

He skidded to a stop at the edge of the maze of stone, looking around carefully for the Enchantress. She had managed to vanish into the walled corners of the damn place, and he was beginning to suspect that it had only been a copy of her to start with... nothing, not even a goddess, could move through things like she had seemed to. But, then, she was a magician... who knew. All that he was sure of was she wasn't there now.

He sighed and looked around, mentally mapping out the route out of the area Amora obviously hoped to get him lost in. It wasn't a difficult task... he'd always been great at things like this. It was just time-consuming. The low rumbling echoed slowly, bouncing off of the surrounding earth... it was everywhere. That wasn't exactly new in the fight, so he ignored it as best he could while he couldn't see any of the creatures.

The rumbling was getting closer, but he continued to force himself not to pay attention to it... there was noise everywhere, it was impossible to pinpoint it anyway. Nothing he could do. He moved his arm to throw his shield, see if the goddess had somehow camouflaged herself against the rocks when she'd come to the dead-end, just to be safe, but something forcefully slammed into him from the side before he could send it off. He managed to see enough past the steely red and gold to watch the beast as it rammed itself into the spot where he had just been standing, then in the next heartbeat he was crashing on his own to the back of a small cave, metallic arms releasing him before he struck the stone.

His head cracked against the rock roughly enough to force his vision to turn white for a few moments. He'd never been more thankful for his super healing that let him avoid a concussion at times like this. Rocks thundered down around the entrance of the cave, dust clogging the air. He covered his eyes and mouth the best he could, trying to remember that Tony was in a metal suit and would be fine... His gut wouldn't let him. As soon as the dust settled and he could begin to see, he frantically scanned the small area for the man.

He was there, helmet off, thrown carelessly to one side, dented and black, the suit sending off sparks, panting in a way that told Steve he wasn't out of breath. Blood covered parts of his face, enough that if he hadn't even sitting up and moving with the time of his breathing, Steve would have been seriously worried he was really hurt. But he'd seen Tony take some bad hits and not even seem to notice it, so that's not what made him worried...

There was just enough light for him to see with rising panic filling the normally cool caramel eyes.

* * *

**T**

Sometimes Tony wished he could just make magic make more sense. Ok, scratch that. He constantly wished for that. He rolled his eyes as the massive beast below him knocked the Hulk to the side seconds before a flaming arrow hit the back of its head and the entire creature went up like an oil soaked rag. Really, it would make everything so much easier if these things would just follow the basic rules of nature, or hell, any bad guy who felt like it couldn't just summon up a portal and throw creatures that made absolutely no sense at them.

But of course not, because that would just be too damn easy, wouldn't it? Stupid fucking magic.

He growled softly to himself in frustration as he set off another fire charge towards a herd of the beasts as they tried attacking the Hulk as a group. All but one went up in flames, and the last one was crushed to splinters under the caring green fingers of their would be victim.

He was beating himself up a little for not thinking to give Widow or the Cap any sort of fire weapons in their suit, but they seemed to be doing decently well on their own... the things were fast, sure, and they were capable of bringing down something as steady as Hulk, but they couldn't turn sharply or keep focus on anything once it left their direct field of view, so they were more of an obstacle as opposed to a real threat, as long as everyone kept their wits about them.

The most obnoxious thing, though, was the amount of noise they gave off... it rendered the Coms they all wore just about useless unless they happened to be right next to each other, so they were more or less on their own together. Thankfully, they had been spending a decent amount of time with one another that it wasn't too big of a problem knowing what the others were doing, even without having to talk to the others. Fury would be so proud.

He landed long enough to set off another one of the beasts and shot back up as one already flaming screamed past him in rage. Really, this would have been a lot easier if there weren't so damn many of these things.

Because once he figured out how to effectively attack them, it only took a short amount of time before they either died as the flames enveloped them or they dove into the ground to smother the fire. They didn't last very long. But they were everywhere.

He knew that smartest thing to do would be to find the source of the damn things... Amora and her ever faithful giant hound, but seeing his team dodging them in every direction whenever enough dust cleared below him made it difficult to not crash to a landing and take care of the whole damn thing. Which was exactly what the Enchantress wanted him to do, no doubt. Give her more time to murder and escape, or whatever she was doing out in the middle of no where. Didn't matter, he was having none of it.

He ignored the chaos going on under him for the most part, sending off a few fiery blasts when he couldn't help himself as Jarvis scanned the area for the Asgardian essence that was distinctly not Thor. Something in the air seemed to be making that more difficult for the AI than he should have been for the relatively small area, but he wasn't worried. Magic did tend to give both of them pause at the most inopportune times. And if he took out a few more that were on Caps tail than he did for the others, well, that was for him alone to know. Jarvis was sure as hell smart enough not to say a word about it.

Just as he was starting to get worried that maybe they had gotten their too late, and the two had already been long gone by the time they joined the battle, Jarvis picked the two up on a small calm hill in the center of everything. Perfect, eye of the storm. Tony rolled his eyes, and turned to speed his way to it, trusting his team to take care of themselves... they were resourceful, they would be completely find. Besides, they did have Hawkeye and his flaming arrows to cover them, and he and just seen Hulk smash two of the things' skulls into each other, then toss their limp bodies to the side like broken toys... as long as they didn't get on his bad side, they could handle it.

He sped his way through the smokey air surrounding the battlefield as quickly as he could get his repulsors to project him towards the two, crashing to a landing as soon as the portal got up. He cursed roughly and ignored the pain that shot through him from the crash landing, shooting off the Vibranium capsules they had just installed in the suit, holding his breath as he watched.

The portal ripped open, then winked out of existence in a heartbeat, right before either of them could open if, the energy absorbing dust particles settling onto Skurge and bringing him to his knees before they could react to it. He smirked behind the face-plate, and tried to think of some witty thing to say before deciding against it... it would be lost in the noise anyway.

Still, he studied the giant as he collapsed next to the Enchantress as she looked on completely in shock and not a little worried. Well, that was certainly an unexpected effect, but not unwelcome. He moved towards her, smirk still in place when he felt a and holding him in place. He turned to see Thor. He didn't need to say a thing to get across the "Let me handle this" look. He nodded and fired off his replusors to go take care of the rest of the beasts that were still terrorizing his team, fully confident that Thor could handle the Enchantress.

He swept over the torn apart field, happy to be able to get down and do a little fighting now that they didn't have to worry about the two getting away. Natasha sent him a thankful look as he blasted a hole into the middle of one of the things behind her she wouldn't have had time to dodge successfully, even with her being who she was. She and Clint weren't exactly built for this kind of battle... they were far more stealth. It didn't as much as it would have a month ago.

Still, it was nice that they showed that they could see that as well as he could, something that, again, wouldn't have happened a month ago. It was really unexpectedly nice to be trusted and in return be able to trust others to do everything they could. It wasn't common for him in his life to be able to say that about anyone.

He landed lightly next to Clint, firing off another blast over the mans shoulder, almost getting an elbow in the face-plate as the man whipped away from the monster in surprise. He ducked away with a laugh, knowing full well that the man wouldn't be able to so much as scratch the suit, deciding to spare him the sore fist. The man glared at the gleaming metal, a small smile he couldn't quite manage to keep off of his face telling him he had been missed. He nodded to the man and did a small bow before taking off again.

Maybe it was because the last real fight he'd been in had been with Steve back during the war, but he had never been more aware of how useful it was to be as mobile as the Iron Man suit made him. Even then, he'd had his repulsors to speed him up ahead of the soldiers so they wouldn't get in his way and accidentally get themselves blasted. He wondered how he hadn't gone insane without his tech.

_'Oh, right. Steve.'_ he smirked to himself. Only the super soldier would be able to keep his mind off of how much he missed his own time enough to keep him from convincing the rest of that world he was insane. It was only right that it turned out that way, after all.

He scanned the ground for said soldier, certain that at very least he would need to know that Amora and Skurge were as good as captured and being guarded by Thor... he didn't envy them. Goofy, yeah, maybe when he felt like it. Fucking terrifying when on the wrong side of his hammer? Absolutely.

Jarvis had no problem picking up Steves bio-signature across the field, actually in a wide expanse of canyons carved naturally in the side of the mountain. He frowned, wondering how he could possibly update Jarvis' databases to pick up Asgardians better... because, apparently, they needed that... and sped off to meet the man. What he was doing in the back of nowhere, Tony didn't know, but as long as he wasn't about to be trampled, it was fine by him.

And, of fucking course, he was about to get trampled.

The thing was tearing its way through the rubble towards the Captain, who didn't even seem aware of it because of the noise bouncing around the canyon rocks from the battle as it was. He didn't think before he dove, crashing into Steve right before the thing tore into the rock where the man had been standing, right into a hollowed cave from one crashing into the solid stone earlier. The relief that washed over him was quickly drowned out as more rock fell on top of him, pinning him and crushing the suit to the ground, pressure tearing at the surrounding metal... the only thing saving him was the suit.

It kept the rock from touching him, but caved in and started shutting down before he could force the weight off of himself, Jarvis sputtering a little, clearly shocked. He managed to pull himself away from where rocks still cascaded down between him and what little there was left to see of the sky. He looked around trying to find Steve before he couldn't see anything between the lack of light and dust settling.

He ripped the helmet off of himself as Jarvis shut down, and panted heavily for a few seconds before allowing his eyes to slide back open and looked around the small area that closed in around him. Even as he lay his head back onto the stony ground, he felt the terror and panic rising in his gut.

* * *

**Ok, that chapter was easier to write than the last one, or else it was just less rushed so I enjoyed it more. Tuesday/Wednesday ones are seeming to go that way more often than not... this week will probably end up being a Wednesday one, so just heads up.**

** Little short this time, really didn't expect to be dragged in the middle of the night to play baseball... I have weird friends. I really do. I'm not sure how I end up getting talked into doing shit like that, either. **

**Hope you guys enjoy. **


	20. Insight

** Well, a bit late, but it's when I expected it to be out, so it's all good. Hope you guys enjoy. Should still have one up on Friday, but it will probably be later on in the day. Hope you guys enjoy this one. **

** This is the first one in a long while that I did only a Steve PoV. Could probably have done Tony with relative ease, but by the time I was almost done with Steve's, I already had enough for me to be ok with posting it, and I kinda wanted to quit writing, so... you know. **

_"We drive on and don't look back, doesn't mean we can't learn from our past." _Frontline by Pillar

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It only took Steve about half a second to realize that Tony was panicking... the team would find them and get them out as soon as they could, of course. He knew that Tony knew that, so it didn't make much sense...

And then it sunk in that the last time Tony had been trapped in a small cave like this, he'd been blown up, kidnapped, tortured, operated on and then all but sentenced to die with a battery hooked up to his chest. Of course he was panicking. His heart twisted, and all he wanted to do was gather the man in his arms and make him see it was alright. The suit would get in the way though..

So, Steve did the only thing he could think of, not letting himself think about it. He would have talked himself out of it, otherwise.

He closed the distance between the two of them as quickly as the small space out allow, pulled the metal-clad man against him as close as the sparking suit would allow and crushed their lips together desperately. He could feel the shock from the other man as Tony pulled himself away from the lost, tormented terror his own mind had been lost in, and was about to pull himself away when Tony responded.

It was by no means violent, nor was it tentative. It was fierce and eager. It made Steve shudder pleasantly, and all the breath left his body... he was pretty sure it wasn't from the kiss. It was so familiar, but so far away. He ignored the feeling, and focused on the feel of Tony, not minding that it wasn't even really Tony under his fingers, but the dented metal. He only pulled away when he realized he'd forgotten to breath and had to pull away. The light of Tony's reactor reflected off of the mans eyes as he stared silently at him, waiting for Steve to say anything, uncharacteristically patient. If that didn't have something to do with him still getting over the initial panic attack he'd been having Steve would eat his shield.

He swallowed slightly and had to try twice before he managed to say anything. "Tony, sorry, I just..." That was all he could get out by Tony was crashing into him again, insistent and more gentle, metal fingers combing through his hair as if he could actually feel it. Steve relaxed into it.

Tony pulled away from him slightly and gave a shuddering sigh against him. "Don't you dare be sorry." He kissed him again, just quickly. Before smiling gently at him. "Took you long enough." Steve's eyes widened... he'd been waiting for him to make the first move... that seemed, well, rather out of character. And unbelievably sweet.

"You were waiting for me to do it?" his voice managed to pull off the amazement that coursed through him. Even in the low light, he could feel Tony rolling his eyes fondly.

"Oh, come on. If I had tried a month ago, I'd probably get a black eye for it."

Steve laughed lightly, and even to him it sounded a bit forced. He looked over the other man. "True enough, I guess... seriously, are you ok?"

Tony swallowed and his eyes shifted around the dark corners. "I've... you know, I've been better. Nothing you can't survive as long as you survive it, though I guess. How about you, I did hit you pretty hard."

Steve considered before nodding slowly. "I'll live. Actually, most of it will probably heal before they get here, and it's not like I've never had a head wound before." Tony's eyes widened a fraction in concern, but Steve waved him off before he could look. "Really not that bad, I can work around it. I just hope they hurry up... think they can track us?"

The other man nodded slowly, still not moving his head from where it rested against him own. "Jarvis probably sent them coordinates as soon as my suit went down. Shouldn't be too hard for them to find.."

Steve shook his head again and let his fingers explore the metal suit, only pulling away when one of the ports still shooting sparks in painful gushes hit him and he felt the heat of it through his gloves. It didn't last long enough to burn him, especially not through a layer of leather, but it still worried him... if the outside of the suit was in this bad of shape, the inside probably wasn't doing much better.

"We need to get you out of that suit." Steve blushed as soon as the words left his mouth, but the half choked bark of laughter that Tony gave made it worth it.

Oh, feeling a little frisky, Cap? Cuz I gotta tell you, I'm always up for a little fun, but you have the oddest sense of timing."

"You know what I meant."

"Unfortunately, yeah, I do. Kinda like my idea better."

Steve rolled his eyes at the other man, trying to ignore the heat that spread down his body. "Now who's the one moving a little fast?"

Tony laughed but made no move to give an answer. Instead he looked around the dark again. "Look, I know you're probably pretty sore and all, and I'm... limited, but maybe we should at least try to move some of this shit that we can? I mean, fuck, we can't get more trapped if we pull the wrong rock, and we have no idea when they others will show up. Would really prefer to avoid another attack if at all possible."

Steve nodded against him, really not wanting to pull away, but knowing it would be for the best. He stood and gave himself a second as a wave of dizziness washed over him before giving Tony a hand up. The man still gave him a worried look, but allowed himself to be hauled to his feet. He was much heavier in all that metal... hopefully it still had some power. It was insane to think that Tony was using his own body strength to move it all, especially injured. Did seem like something the man would be stubborn enough to do. He sighed and took in the wall of rocks.

This would take a while. He was sure as soon as Thor was here, it wouldn't take nearly as long, or even the Hulk, once he figured out Tony was trapped behind the rocks, but Steve wasn't sure the latter was a good thing.

He wasn't by any means jealous of Banners other form or anything...it was a little creepy how much the big just liked Tony, but it was also useful. He just didn't want Hulk to accidentally hurt Tony more... Tony was tough as hell and could handle it, sure, but if it set Hulk off in a rage that he was hurt in the first place, and having Tony's suit for the most part down, they would have a hard time calming him down. Steve really wasn't up for that, right now.

More than anything, he just wanted to get Tony somewhere safe and make sure he was alright. And now that he was sure Tony sure as hell wasn't against it, they could talk about maybe making things between them... well, different than they were now. Not until they were out, though, to be sure. He certainly wasn't up for talking as he moved the heavy stones, and he was positive Tony was in worse shape than him, even if he was always up for talking, Steve doubted he had that kind of talk in him right then.

He could hear the angry muttered threats directed at the rocks and the Enchantress from where the other man worked calmly, and he couldn't help but smile. No matter what it was that the world ended up throwing at him, he was certain Tony would always be Tony. That was more of a comfort than it should have been, but he supposed with their line of work and everything, it wasn't very surprising. Anything as constant as Tony was a welcome relief.

He looked over at the man with concern when he let out a quick unamused laugh. Tony looked back at him and shook his head gently to dismiss whatever it was, and gave a quick, small smile to Steve before turning back to where he was working on the wall. He continued to frown at it as he chose his next rock... hopefully Tony wasn't losing too much blood or anything. They really needed to get out.

He groaned in frustration as soon as he muscled a large rock out of the way, sending a cascade of semi-smaller rocks to his feet and more rocks from above took their place. A metal hand closed around his shoulder, and he felt himself being pulled down into a sitting position against the hard chest plate of the armor, arms wrapping around him comfortably as they sat against the back wall. Steve wanted to resist, to keep trying to dig them out, but he couldn't pull away from the firm grasp. Well, technically he could, probably without too much trouble, but his body wasn't cooperating. Instead he let his head fall back to rest against Tony's metal clad shoulder with his eyes closed.

He let out a small laugh after a second. " Shouldn't I be the one comforting you right now?"

He could feel Tony smile against his back. "You already did. Probably more than you know. And in case you didn't know, I get over shit pretty quickly. We'll be fine, lets just rest for a little, alright? It'll go more quickly if we take the time to rest before we overwork ourselves." Steve just nodded and sighed.

He was right, of course... logically. But something deep down in him was begging him to keep going, to get Tony out of this. After everything he'd been through, the man sure as hell didn't deserve this. But, then, he was behaving a lot more calmly than Steve would ever have expected. More than anyone expected him to be able to be, he was sure. But then, Tony was hardly what he appeared to be from the outside, any one of the avengers could attest to that.

As relaxing as it was, the silence of the place was driving him insane, and he didn't know why. The soft trickle of stone falling and shifting by itself was the only noise aside from their breathing. It was impossible not to concentrate on. He opened his eyes for a second and shifted his head so he could try to see Tony. It was too dark in the corner, even with the reactor, all he could see was the outline of the man.

Through the dark, he could feel Tony's expectant gaze as he waiting for him to talk. Tony knew him too well. He shifted back to look at the ceiling, keeping his eyes open this time and took a moment to try to figure out what to say.

"Tell me something no one knows about you, Tony?" Steve forced his eyes to stay on the darkness above them, but he could feel his heart hammering. Hopefully Tony wouldn't be able to feel it through the thick metal... the man snorted.

"Really think this is the best time for that?" Steve glanced at him, knowing full well he was using what the others had taken to calling his puppy dog look, and he didn't care. The soft light around him lit him up just enough for Tony to see it. He winced and sighed. He felt the smaller man shifting, and turning his head away from Steve, to gaze at the wall intently. For some reason, it felt familiar.

"Ok, fine, Cap. But let's...just between us, yeah?" Steve nodded quickly before realizing that Tony couldn't see or likely feel his movement, but the man continued before he said anything. "The reason I stopped selling weapons is that they can fall into the wrong hands, that they can be used against the people I want to protect. Instead, I made the Iron Man, I made myself a weapon."

Tony was whispering, now. It was still the loudest noise in the cave, but not by much. " I thought that if I did, I could never be used like that... and almost immediately, I was. Well, I mean, my reactor was, and I took him down quickly, but I still happened." Tony shook his head a bit. "I made changes, I made sure it wouldn't happen again.

"Then, there was Loki. He took control of Barton, took his mind, used him against us. Then, he tried to do that to me... For a second there, I was terrified. Everything that I am... I've been the cause of death to too many innocents, too many people, and I just wanted to make that right. For a second, all I could think was that was all I was, and no matter what I did, I would just hurt the people I was close to, the people I lo..well, that I was working with."

Steve took a second to say anything, processing it. Surely Tony didn't actually blame himself for that still... it was pretty clear that he was a hero to the world. Besides, it had been in his blood the moment he was born to make weapons, trained into him like breathing... it had never been his fault. Steve wanted to vocalize his thoughts, but he knew his throat was too tight to get any of the words out.

Instead, he adjusted himself and looping his arms around the torso of Tony's suit, kissing his forehead gently, staying like that until he could speak. " You should know better. You're too stubborn to be controlled like that." He knew it was a weak joke, but it snapped Tony out of his momentary depression with a fond laugh.

"I suppose you're right."

Steve's smile slipped. "Sorry, I really had no right to make you tell me that."

Tony just shrugged. "I'm not about to hide anything from you, Cap. Just because I don't want to say anything doesn't mean I don't want you to know." Steve felt that there was something more to the words than he understood, just how Tony had phrased it, but he let it go for the time being. Under the small but growing category of things that were best to be saved to talk about later, this one fit almost perfectly.

It still made him smile and nod against Tony, but he kept silent. The scraping of rocks was getting louder, it seemed, or the silence was getting more pronounced. He knew it wasn't just his imagination when he felt Tony go completely still under him, holding his breath. He only realized he was doing the same thing when his lungs started hurting from the lack of oxygen. Distantly, he could almost make out voices.

He could feel the smile stretching on his face as he finally let himself start breathing again. "Looks like we don't have to wait long, huh?"

Tony laughed gently. "Sure it's them? Could just be more rocks."

Steve shook his head. "Nope, sometimes I forget you don't have enhanced hearing... I can hear them talking out there, and unless Amora and Skurge feel like coming after two rather distinct threats while we're already trapped, I can't think of who else it could be."

Tony laughed gently again. "I'll have to trust you on that for now, you and your stupid, crazy good hearing."

Steve's smile grew and he pulled away from Tony enough to stick his tongue out at the man. He knew the man couldn't see him, but it seemed appropriate. "Think we should help them out?"

Tony shook his head. "I don't know about you, but I'm pretty fucking tired. Besides, I think we actually were managing to lock ourselves in more than anything."

He considered it. "Hmm... you're right... but they're probably tired too."

He could feel Tony giving him an amused stare. "It wasn't a long fight, you know. Just frantic... I doubt that a God would get tired that easily, and if Bruce is still pissed, neither is the Hulk. And you know damn well that Natasha probably isn't bothering, knowing there are better people for the job. And Clint's probably searching for food in the quinjet they brought."

Steve leaned back against him, twisting around again to face the wall. "Fair enough." They stayed like that, staying as silent as they could while the working grew louder, and finally Tony could hear them talking.

He looked over to Steve. "Ok, you won."

Steve rolled his eyes. "I though you said you'd trust me."

Tony smirked back at him. "Yeah, and obviously it paid off." He leaned forward and kissed the side of Steves temple before standing up to walk over and pick up his ruined helmet from the other side of the cave before walking back over and offering Steve a hand up.

He took it, but mostly pushed himself to his feet without putting too much weight on Tony, which caused the man to laugh at him.

"I'm not going to break or something, you know."

Steve shrugged. "Don't know where you're hurt. Until I do, you might."

Tony paused before shaking his head gently. "You're ridiculous."

"Maybe. But so are you."

"Oh?"

"Yup."

"Great explanation, there."

The muffled sound of Clints voice through the stone made them both jump. "At least let us get in there before you start killing one another guys, seriously."

They exchanged a look in the blue glower. Steve lifted an eyebrow. "We were fighting?"

Tony shrugged. "More of a debate, I guess."

"But we were agreeing."

Tony made a noise of agreement before hiding a wince. Or trying to. He waved Steve off before he could try to help, though.

This time Clint's voice wasn't as much of a surprise. "Come on guys, you know perfectly well we can hear you now. You could at least let us know you're alright."

Steve considered. "What do you count as alright?"

"God dammit."

Tony rolled his eyes and pushed gently at Steves shoulder in an almost playful manner. "knock it off both of you. We're fine. Just...cavey."

It wasn't a surprise at all to hear Natasha's voice, given Clint was out there. "How injured?"

Tony shrugged before Steve could come up with a good answer. "Ish."

"Good, that means I can kick both of your asses for getting yourselves hurt without feeling too bad about it.

They both winced at the same time. "Wait, I meant, ouch, my ribs and other bodily parts."

"You're not fooling anyone at all with that performance, Stark."

"Who said I was trying to? I'm an awesome faker when I care to be, thank you very much."

Steve rolled his eyes. "Just hold off on hurting him until we figure out exactly how hurt he is, alright? You know he won't tell us if it's bad."

There was no answer from the other side, but Tony rolled his eyes right back at him."Sometimes I think you know me too well for your own good."

Steve smiled and moved into the other mans personal space."Is that such a bad thing?"

Tony blinked widely before giving a quick, chaste kiss. " Maybe not." It was odd how easy this was... Steve would never have done something like this as easily back in his own time, but with Tony, he couldn't help it.

Light streamed into the gave as a few more rocks gave a final groan and were pulled away by the hands of Thor, who seemed to be having some fun tossing them about like they weighed nothing, and they moved away from the other to cover their eyes from the sudden light.

Steve was still adjusting to the light as Tony darted out quickly, and Steve felt awful all over again. Of course Tony hadn't been ok in the cave... he was just doing what he was good at... covering his most obvious reactions. Oh well... at least they had gotten out of it. And when he followed and looked at the other man, he smiled back, gently, eyes shining.

Clint looked the two of them up and down from where he and Natasha were leaning against a rock before rolling his eyes and turned to Tony. "Man you look fucking awful."

Tony frowned and glared right back at the archer. "Really, 'cuz I feel _awesome._" Really, He was looking better in the daylight than he had been in the dark of the cave, most of the blood covering the visible parts of his body dry and the bruises not nearly as exaggerated as the shadows had made them look.

But still, by the look of everyone else, he was the one who had taken the most damage. Natasha had the beginnings of a bruise on a cheekbone, and there was a shallow slice along Clint's arm, Bruce was no where around, so Steve figured he was passed out in the quinjet, and he didn't really take damage, and Thor looked a little tired at most. He shook his head. How was it that Tony was always the one pulling the short end of the stick, even covered in a thick suit of metal?

Probably because the same suit mixed in with his personality made him take more risks than the others. Another thing to add to the we need to talk about this at some point, but not now list.

Clint glanced between the two of them again, obviously searching for something before shaking his head and turning to walk back to the quinjet. "Come on, oblivious ones. I want to pass the fuck out." Steve looked over to Tony and gave a small smile once the archers back was turned. Tony winked back and followed with a limp.

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**Alright, knocked out this chapter completely today. Shortish, but it'll work well enough. Good... I have a feeling you guys will be happier than if I'd waited til Friday with it, but it also means that the next one will be up later in the day on Friday than usual. So, you know, patience is a virtue and all of that. Hope you guys enjoyed. **


	21. Halcyon

** Alright, might do a little of Tony's PoV from the last chapter, but it won't be a full one of that, like I do sometimes, so no worries. Sorry if it's up kind of late and all, but I do put them up as soon as I finish, and this one might be a bit hard on me right now. **

_"We are lightning straying from the thunder." _This Will Be The Day by Jeff Williams

* * *

Tony wasn't really aware of the passage of time between his realization that they were trapped, and he felt himself shutting down, and when he felt Steve move against him. He was guessing it wasn't very long... Steve was usually observant enough to notice when something was wrong and he was pretty sure him panicking was pretty damn obvious. It was certainly an unexpected way to be pulled out of it, but he wasn't complaining.

Steve started to pull away, which, thank you, _no. _He'd been waiting far too long for Steve to make any sort of move to have it be ruined by something as stupid as this. He pushed the terror away much as he had the first time it had overtaken him, back when Yinsen had died for him... he felt none of that same rage, now, of course, but the mechanics were still eerily the same. Despite him having been the one to make the move, he could still feel the surprise go through Steve.

When they pulled away for air, Steve immediately tried to apologize, something Tony shot down immediately. He rolled his eyes at the reaction, something he was sure was lost in the dark of the cave before kissing the man again. He hadn't ever gotten time before to do so, and he sure as hell wasn't going to let that happen again. Ever, if he could help it. The way Steve smiled at him only reinforced that thought.

Tony sighed and leaned himself against the back wall in a daze, not really concentrating on anything Steve was trying to talk about. It wasn't abnormal for him, he supposed... it was how he got through most of his meetings, and his responses were always genuine... actually, that's when he said things he probably shouldn't and it got him into trouble with the media. He was sure Steve would understand.

He was, however, aware enough to realize Steve was standing up, and ran what they were saying back to himself. Shit. He'd just agreed to move some of the rock, hadn't he. Well, this was going to hurt like hell.

He wasn't wrong. Turns out having half a ton of rock falling on top of him was more than the suit could protect him from, and he was positive he at least had a few cracked ribs... Steve didn't need to know that, though. It would only make the man feel bad about it. Tony stopped for a moment to catch his breath from forcing the mostly powerless suit to move around him... damn good thing the joints hadn't locked when it shut down... and looked around their prison.

The shadows around him stood completely still... not that he should have expected any different. In fact, he would have probably been disturbed if they had moved... still, it would have been a relief, in a way. It was far too quiet after the loud, fierce battle above. Eerie, really.

He let out a short laugh that caused the Captains confused eyes to flicker back to him for a moment, but thankfully the man didn't break the silence even further. It really was funny, though, knowing that this was his life now... being suspicious of shadows because they were only shadows, not hiding anything more sinister than that. Absolutely ridiculous.

Right before he decided to say just fuck it, Steve noted he could hear the others working out there... he absolutely had every faith in Steve and his hearing, and trusted he knew what he was talking about... but that didn't mean he couldn't be a bit of a playful ass about the whole thing. Besides, it would take some of his concentration away from being trapped and in pain... that was always a good idea, in him opinion.

He didn't really expect Steve to play along, not being used to that kind of thing in this time, but he was happy that he did, and wasn't outright as insulted as he was pretending to be. It certainly made his life a lot easier. Steve was actually the one to stop the working, and go to the back of the cave to rest, and Tony didn't hesitate in joining him. Caves should be ashamed of themselves for existing. He was starting to feel a little ashamed that he was stuck in auto-pilot mode when the walls containing them went down, and he moved before he could register what he was doing.

He winced... Hopefully Steve wouldn't think that it was somehow his fault Tony had bolted...

The smile the other man gave him, worry filling his eyes, was enough to put his mind to ease about that. He allowed himself to smile back, relishing in the clean air... well, not really clean, it was dusty as fuck still, and burned his lungs a little, but at least it was open air, not stiff and choking. He ignored what ever stupid remark Clint made and felt himself saying something probably equally as biting back, just allowing himself to breath again. Maybe he hadn't been as ok as he'd thought himself to be once he'd gotten control of himself back.

Actually, now that he didn't have to actively concentrate on being ok, he wanted to fall down and twitch a bit and sleep for about a week. Then wake up to Steve, eat as much as he could, then pass out again. He knew he wouldn't of course, but it sounded absolutely fantastic at the moment. The weird thing was, Steve probably would be doing just that, maybe minus the whole twitching part. Admittedly, It had probably been a harder fight on Steve than it had been on himself... sure, it took a stupid amount of energy to move the suit around, but most of the strength in it came from the reactor... plus, he'd been, for the most part, above all of the fighting. Good thing the man had almost an almost endless amount of energy.

He only realized he had zoned out of everything going on around him when there was an arm around him and he was being led to the Quinjet. Clint was giving him and Steve a weird look that just about promised that he'd be talking with Tony about it later, but stayed silent. Thor was oblivious, and Natasha seemed to tired to even pretend to be interested. They weren't a threat to her in her mind, anymore, so it didn't matter much at times like this.

The air in the jet was cool, verging on cold, and felt amazing against the heat of his skin. He didn't even feign wanting to get out and fly off on his own, and just let his head rest against the soft metal as they took off. He couldn't find the energy to join the conversation going on around him. When they got back, he'd have to talk with T'Challa... and arrange a trip to thank the man as well as pick up their things.

Steve's voice was soft, obviously trying to be quiet for his sake. "So, Amora and Skurge...? they get away again?"

Clint snorted at him from the pilots cabin. "Fuck no, they didn't. Nat had to pull Thor off of the witch before he had a chance to murder her, but you know... Shield came by to escort them back to the Raft."

Steve's body radiated confusion. "Sorry, the what now?"

Tony sighed and didn't bother opening his eyes. "One of the prisons designed to hold assholes like those two. If nothing else, Shield is always prepared for the uncontrollable."

"hmm... then why didn't we just keep Loki locked up here..?"

Thor's voice rumbled through the cabin. "My brother is not yours to punish... He might not think it, but he is still my family. And as such, it is my responsibility to deal with him."

Tony gave a quick laugh. "But not these two?" He cracked an eye to watch the god.

Thor shrugged. "They acted against your people, not mine. As such they are yours to deal with as you will."

Tony nodded and let his eyes slide closed again, shifting to lean against Steve. He could not wait to get this metal off of him... he was sure it was stabbing everywhere he was bruised. Which, to be fair, was going to be just about everywhere in general, but it was still uncomfortable. Not uncomfortable enough to stop him from falling asleep, though.

* * *

**S**

It was without a doubt the fastest Steve had ever seen Tony go from having a conversation to just _out._ Then again, he'd never really seen Tony fall asleep before, so maybe it didn't count. He really wasn't sure the others could tell if he was or not, but the steady rhythm of his breathing against Steve convinced him. It was almost unnatural for the man to be sleeping, especially around this many people, but Steve couldn't blame him. It was all he could do to keep himself awake, after all.

He signed and leaned back against Tony. He doubted any of them would mind if he did sleep as well... Tony and Bruce already were, and it would be better not to show up at Shield exhausted. He frowned and slowly shifted enough to put Tony back against the wall and stood as carefully as he could not to wake the man. He must have really been out, because he didn't so much as stir as Steve made his way over to where Clint was.

"So, Shield already has them in custody, right?"

Clint didn't jump at the sound of his voice, simply nodding while raising an eyebrow in his direction.

"How angry do you think they'd get if we pushed off a debriefing for the day?"

The other mans eyes grew a fraction wider, and he turned his attention away from the controls to look at Steve. "Pretty pissed... but I guess we are all pretty tired... maybe we could convince Coulson that to convince them that this was necessary?"

Steve smiled lightly. "You don't feel like going in right now and dealing with it either, I take it."

Clint snorted and rolled his eyes before turning back to focus on the skies in front of them. "Fuck it, of course I don't. I just want to get something to eat and fall asleep for a bit, man. Those things were total bitches to deal with." Steve nodded sullenly. "Yeah, fuck it, Lets just go home. I'll radio it in, deal with it later. By the way, how the fuck did you guys manage to get yourselves trapped like that? It was so far away from everything, seriously, man."

Steve sighed and blushed before taking the co-pilot seat, careful not to touch anything that could potentially murder them all. " I was chasing Amora... then she just disappeared."

Clint growled a bit. "Stupid fucking magic, dude."

Steve nodded again in agreement. " Then one of those things was after me, and Tony managed to get me out of the way before I noticed it was even there, and, well, we were trapped." Clint shook his head again with another sigh.

"Well, that's shitty. Damn good thing neither of you guys was hurt too badly. If Jarvis hadn't sent a distress signal, we'd never have found you guys."

"At least you did."

Clint nodded and veered off in a different direction, back to the Tower. "So. Going to tell us what's going on?

Steve blushed and looked away with a light cough. "What do you mean?"

Clint turned his eyes slightly again to glare in his direction. "You know damn well. Don't try to play stupid, it doesn't work on Tony and it doesn't work on you."

Steve blushed harder but shrugged in the archers direction. "To be honest, I'm not really sure right now... we didn't exactly talk about it or anything... wait, you guys noticed?"

"What, the two of you clinging all over each other like love-sick teenagers for the past few weeks and making eyes at each other when we finally got you out? Nope, you guys were completely discreet as shit."

Steve coughed again. "ah... well, then."

"Yup, well. When you guys going to talk?"

He shrugged. "Probably after we all sleep and recover from this... and from whatever Fury's going to do with us after that."

Clint nodded. "Well, both of you should be careful. You'll have Fury so far up your ass if he finds out anything is going on...And I just realized that was an awful choice of words for the situation."

Steve had been completely sure that he couldn't have blushed harder... he was wrong. He buried is head in his hands and moaned. Clint laughed at him.

"Come on, You know I'm teasing."

Steve mumbled something back, but even he wasn't sure what he'd been trying to say. Clint didn't ask.

"If you'll excuse me, I think I'll go die back in the cabin now..."

Clint laughed harder. "Hey, no funny business in my plane." If he hadn't been the one flying the jet, Steve would have been perfectly ok with punching the man. Instead he ignored the last comment as best he could and hoped to God that the others hadn't heard any of that as he walked back to where Tony was still leaning against the wall, still fast asleep. Natasha didn't so much as glance at him, and Thor seemed to be equally lost in thought, so maybe they hadn't... Natasha, he was sure, had noticed the change in direction, even if she didn't go talk to Clint about it... maybe they were just trying to be polite. If so, he appreciated it.

He groaned in pain as he leaned back into the seat and Tony blinked himself awake next to him.

"You 'k?"

He smiled at the genius and nodded gently. "Get back to sleep. I'm just a little sore." The mans eyes slid back closed and he made an agreeable noise before his breathing evened out again. Steve smiled, allowing his blush to fade slightly. Natasha looked over to him as he sat and met his eyes, clearly asking if he was alright despite not bothering to speak... it was just creepy that most of their group could do that... he wondered how it looked to the outside. As if they were having conversations in their heads, maybe? Maybe it just looked like they were a good team. Ok, maybe he really needed to sleep if that was the sort of thing he was genuinely asking himself.

At any rate, one side of his mouth jerked up momentarily and he nodded just slightly in her direction, raising an eyebrow to ask her the same. She nodded just as gently as he had, and turned to walk to sit by Clint. He shook his head and turned back to Tony as he started to adjust himself to lay back of Steve. Steve just laughed, wondering how, as clearly asleep as he was, Tony always managed to know when he was there and somehow decided he was a good pillow. He wasn't complaining, it was absolutely adorable -not that he'd ever have the guts to tell the man that, not with those words- but it was just so strange that he managed to without missing a beat.

He closed his eyes and reached out to comb his fingers through his friends hair, ignoring whatever looks he could potentially be earning for Thor. It was worth it, if they already knew anyway, to feel the impossibly soft strands between his fingers and feel Tony muttering in his sleep against his shoulder, seeming to lean into the touch. He smiled to himself and just let himself sink into a half sleep like he usually did after a mission, making sure that he kept his fingers moving... if this was the last time he would be allowed to do this, he was certainly going to take full advantage.

He startled awake when they landed on the roof of Stark tower, and a wave of being home settled over him. He loved it. Tony jerked awake at the same time, not managing to cover a wince of pain before Steve saw, but he let it go. The man looked around sleepily.

"Ok, where are we and why?"

Steve smiled lightly. "Stark Tower."

Natasha made her way out into the cabin with a roll of her eyes. "The boys decided that a debriefing could wait while the targets are processed. Get ready to be in trouble with Fury."

Tony grinning manically at her. "Perfect! Really don't want to see his face right now."

Her lips twitched to hide a smile and she gave a nod in agreement before jumping out of the now open doors. Steve moved to help Tony stand, but paused at the raised eyebrow from the man. He took his hand, and pulled himself to his feet, and winked broadly at Steve before disappearing after Natasha. Steve almost followed him... but he did have his own wounds to take care of. It would have to wait.

He made his way through the familiar halls of the Tower, discretely looking around to see if anything was broken... aside from a few dents in the walls, a half-burnt couch and a fractured TV screen, there didn't seem to be too much damage. He wasn't sure he even wanted to know what they had gotten up to in their absence.

He opened the door to his room, holding his breath... nothing was out of place. Well, at least Clint hadn't done anything in his room... well, at least nothing notable. He didn't think he'd be asking Jarvis if he had been up to anything. It had risks, but it would be better not to know in the end. He pulled off his suit quickly, and jumped into the shower... fantastically hot, thankfully, and let the water wash the blood out of his hair and off of his skin. He didn't let himself take too long in the heat of the water, knowing damn well it would just make him even more tired and he still wanted to talk with Tony.

He jumped out as soon as there was no more sign of blood after a good soaping, without washing his hair, and examined the gash in the back of his head through the vaguely foggy mirror. Being him, of course, the serum's effects had it almost closed, so he didn't bother putting anything on it, making a mental note to just take it easy for a few days.

He threw on the first set of clean clothes from his dresser, not bothering to match them up before all but sprinting back downstairs, managing to dance around a sleepy Bruce as he walked down the hallway heading to his room. The exchanged nods, but Steve didn't say a word... the lines around the doctors eyes indicated that he had a headache, and while it was not a good idea to irritate anyone in that mood, it was downright suicidal to do so with Bruce, even if he was nice about it up until the point he was pissed.

Naturally, Clint was completely passed out on the burnt couch with Coulson sitting in the armchair next to him, reading something. He snuck by as quietly as he could... which, while not as good as either of the spies could have done, was good enough not to wake Clint or alert the other agent of his presence. He stopped trying to be sneaky when he hit the kitchen, and immediately came eye to eye with Thor, who paused his raid of the fridge to turn and look at him with a smile.

Steve nodded to him, and tried to sprint by, but Thor clasped his shoulder for a moment as he passed and gave him a blinding smile and a wink. Steve felt that blush again, but nodded to the man again before continuing after Tony anyway. Just be make sure he was alright, obviously... Ok, no reason to lie to himself, here... the others didn't need to know that, though... well, unless they already knew. Which, if his conversation with Clint was anything to go by, they were all perfectly aware.

Oh well, they were his team, they weren't making a big deal out of it, so they obviously didn't mind, who cared if they knew or not... except Fury. And maybe Coulson... Coulson was basically Fury, just more clingy. Not a bad guy, clearly, but still, it would just be a little weird.

And who knew if Tony had even been ok with what had happened... he'd been panicked, tired, injured... for all of it, he might have been delirious or something the whole time. God, Steve hoped that wasn't the case... then, he couldn't really imagine Tony being that out of it... he was too in control of himself, the whole cave thing proved that yet again. He couldn't help but worry about it, non the less.

He snuck the rest of the way through the kitchen, trying to avoid being noticed by anyone else who was there... it was empty, of course, which just made him feel silly for even worrying about it at all in the first place, and stood at the top of the stairs, staring down them half a second before continuing, making his way down to Tony's lab, but paused outside of the door, talking a second to close his eyes and sigh before pressing in his code to have Jarvis open the door... he could have just asked, but he felt this was more appropriate. He was so far out of his depths, and he didn't know what he was going to do or even say... But the second he saw Tony, suit being pulled off, all of the tension just vanished. He managed to ignore the gashes covering the man, visible even through his black under-suit. The man paused what he was doing and turned to look at Steve, eyes soft, smiling.

"Hey."

He felt himself relax, and smile back. "Hey."

* * *

**Alright, this one is a day late, sorry about that, I just couldn't come up with how to start it and everything. And hopefully there wasn't too much of a rehash of the last chapter for you guys, just had one thing down for months that I would have been pissed if I hadn't gotten to use, Hope you guys enjoy it.**

** Heads up, might take a break next week, so if I don't post and all, I did warn you guys. Might do one chapter, but we'll see.**

** This would be a decent ending to this story, I think, but it won't be... just noticed as I wrote it that it wouldn't be too bad... I'm sure it would piss some off, but you know. **


	22. Exhort

** Sorry I took last week off, hope none of you missed me too much. Just needed a bit of a break. Didn't end up working very well, given I'm more tired now than I usually am writing this. Turns out I just suck at sleeping. Meant to have this up Tuesday, sorry its a Friday one, got sick and said screw it, week and a half break. And, hey, all Steve chapter.**

_"Feels like I met you years ago, now we're picking up right where we left off." _Landing Feet First by Bayside.

* * *

The only reason Steve didn't immediately pounce on Tony to start cleaning and patching his wounds was because he himself was sore and hurting just as much, even without the physical injuries. Besides, Tony was competent enough to be patching his own wounds on his own, which, thankfully, he was doing, as soon as Jarvis finally finished pulling the gear off of him.

"Really wasn't expecting you to come down here so quick, Cap." Tony's smile never wavered, but there was still hesitance in his eyes. Steve never let his own fade and moved slowly towards the man.

"Needed to make sure that you were alright."

Tony gave a half laugh and shook his head, looking away to bandage a nasty cut on his arm. "You worry far too much."

Steve rolled his eyes and let his smile fade slightly. He'd been right... Tony was in pretty bad shape. He'd be surprised to find more than a few inches on his that wasn't covered in bruises or cuts. "I don't think so. Can I help at all?"

Tony turned back to him with a smile and made it very clear when he rolled his eyes. "Relax, Cap. You need rest too. I got this."

Steve smiled and leaned against the wall. Tony paused and finally shrugged and tossed the first aid gear he was holding onto the counter. "Fuck it, good enough." and made his way over to Steve.

He sighed again and pushed off of the wall, giving up on letting Tony deal with his own injuries... he should have known the man would just shrug them off. Like always. Silly Tony. He carefully grabbed Tony's arms and steered him back over to the counter. "No, not good enough. Here, lets see."

Naturally, Tony couldn't be helpful, and made Steve jump almost a foot when the smaller man leaned against his chest, head resting on his shoulder, completely ignoring his attempt to figure out what needed to be done. Steve couldn't help the smile that made its way to his face, or the warmth that spread through his entire body, and let his arms close around the smaller man as gently as he could, careful to not irritate the forming bruises.

"This ok?" He mumbled into the mans ruffled hair and smiled wider when there was only a sleepy nod for a response, and strong arms circling around his hips to rest there. Neither of them moved for a few minutes, allowing themselves to just relax into one another. It didn't feel familiar, exactly, just comfortable. Right. He could have hit himself for thinking that what had gone on in the cave had possibly been some sort of cruel joke... sure, Tony could be ridiculous at times, but it wasn't like him to ever do something like that, even when he was as out of it as he was.

His eyes snapped open when he heard the sliding of the glass doors of Tony's lab, but he didn't release the other man. Tony didn't seem to mind, only turning his own head to look over at a wide-eyed, rather confused looking Bruce.

"So... when did this become a thing?"

They both just shrugged, and Bruce shook his head at the lack of any real answer. " I expect an explanation when I don't feel like falling over and dying. You know the others will want one two."

Tony muttered something unintelligible and Steve rolled his eyes, turning his head back to rest on the top of Tony's again, but didn't argue. Seemed there was no such thing as privacy when living with a group of heroes.

Tony finally pulled his face away from where it had been buried in Steve's shirt and raised one eyebrow in Bruce's direction. " Not that I don't love having you down here, Brucie-bear, but I think now isn't the best time."

Bruce shrugged. "Yeah, I was kinda getting that vibe too. Just wanted to make sure you were alright... well, that both of you were. Guess I'll be able to cut one stop out of my check, huh?" Neither bothered to respond as Bruce turned around and made his way back to the Shop's doors. "You are both alright, right?" The both nodded at he curly haired man, and Steve smiled at him. "Good. Steve, just so you know, hurt him, the other guy won't be happy." He left as both of them jumped.

Steve slowly turned back to look down at Tony. "..Did he just threaten me in front of you?"

Tony nodded slowly, confusion filling his eyes. "I think so... huh. Think that means something?"

Steve smiled lightly. "Yeah... it means I'll be sure never to hurt you."

Tony laughed. "Please. I don't get hurt. I think you're safe." Steve rolled his eyes, but didn't respond. Tony sighed. "We should probably talk, huh?"

Steve let out a sigh into the dark hair. "Probably. But later. I'm pretty exhausted. You need to let me help you patch yourself up, you know."

"Damn, though I had you distracted."

Steve smirked. "Not that easily."

Tony moved to look up at him, his own smirk mirrored. "Oh, come on. I'm great at distracting people."

Steve shook his head. "If you say so, Tony." Despite his words, he didn't release the man and Tony didn't pull back any farther.

"You know you really don't need to. Not really injured in the right way for bandages to do much."

Steve examined him. He had quite a few cuts, but most by no means needed immediate care... that was only on the surface, though. "...Promise?" Tony nodded again with a smile. "Fine. I'll trust you for now. You should let Bruce or one of the Shield medics take a look at you tomorrow just to make sure, though."

Tony rolled his eyes."I'll think about it."

Steve frowned. "Not acceptable. Need you to promise me that you will."

"Oh? And why would that be?"

Steve laughed a little bit. "Because, knowing you, 'thinking about it' means you'll think 'nope,' and get away with it on a technicality."

Tony's shoulders shook slightly in a silent laugh. "You might know me too well."

Steve smirked again. "Not possible." Tony's arms tightened around his waist and he couldn't help but hug the man back.

"You're ridiculous." The low mumble was almost lost in his shirt, but it still made Steve smile.  
"Only for you."

"And cheesy."

"See, your words say it's a bad thing, but your tone says differently."

"Never said I didn't like cheesy." They both stood slightly against one another again for a few minutes before Tony broke it. "Mind if I ask you a huge favor?"

Steve's stomach sunk slightly, dreading some sort of 'lets forget his happened' speech, but he nodded anyway.

"You're going to think I'm an idiot... but I really don't feel up to being alone tonight."

Steve jumped, his stomach immediately relaxed again. "..You want me to stay with you? What, here?"

Tony rolled his eyes up at him. "Yes, because I only exist down here." His tone was light enough that Steve just had to laugh. "Really, though, caves and I- clearly- don't really get alone with one another very well. And you know, it just so happens that my bed is big and comfortable as all hell." Steve blushed and Tony laughed before he got a chance to respond. "Oh, calm down, blushy, I'm not asking you to come up and fuck me, just sleep."

"Wow, you are _such_ a romantic." Steve paused to let himself smile. "I wouldn't mind that at all, actually. To be honest, I don't really want to be alone either."

Tony smirked. "Sorry, didn't know you were looking for romantic after everything today. I'll have to work on that."

Steve chuckled and finally coaxed his arms into releasing Tony and take a step away from the man, rubbing his eyes. Sleep definitely was sounding fantastic, more so than it had before... now he wouldn't even have to leave Tony. Really was starting to make up for the awful day... well, other than the catching the bad guys thing. That was something they wouldn't have to worry about, at least. Morning was not going to be fun, either. But for now, things were good. Almost amazing, even, if he was able to figure out what exactly 'things' were.

Tony pushed himself away from the counter and edged his way around Steve, taking his hand as he did so and pulled him along after him. Steve's long legs easily kept pace with Tony's weary limp. It was really starting to seem unfair, Tony was always the one who took the worst injuries. He knew the man didn't mind, of course, otherwise he would have been more careful, but he just couldn't let it go, even if he never intended to bring it up... or, at least, not tonight. Especially not tonight, giving that this time most of his injuries and discomfort came from saving him. He didn't exactly have much room to complain.

That didn't mean he didn't have to fight the urge to pick the man up and carry him to save him the pain as they made their way to the elevator. He was sure Tony wouldn't have appreciated that, no matter how much he was letting Steve get away with, today. He half expected all of that to disappear in the morning, but a big enough part of him was convinced otherwise that he was comfortable telling that half to bug off and let him enjoy it.

Tony's floor of the tower was- unsurprisingly- rather empty and was just about as personal as his guest room back in Wakanda had been, if not more so. It was comfortable, of course, whatever designer he'd brought in to arrange it all had made sure of that, but it didn't have the 'lived in' feeling Steve had always associated with someones home. Really, the shop had more of that feeling, and that wasn't really saying much. It made sense, he guessed. Tony was up here rarely since they had moved in. It fit Tony's personality for it not to be used.

Tony released his hand and Steve sat on the edge of the bed, ready to fall back until Tony Stripped off his shirt in one carelessly grace movement. He wondered if the man had any idea of what he was doing to him... he shook his head and looked away from the man to give him a little privacy while he changed. He expected him to get a nightshirt or something with the sweats he pulled out and jumped a little when the man crawled into the soft bed with just the sweats on.

"Going to join me, or sleep sitting up all night?"

Steve shook his head with a smile, and crawled along the blankets to where the other man was laying. "Aren't you going to get cold without a shirt?"

"Psh... Steve, shirts are overrated. Especially while sleeping. Besides, I have you to keep me warm." Tony paused. "But, if the light bothers you..."

Steve rolled his eyes. "I'm a soldier. It takes a lot more than a little bit of light to keep me awake, no matter what." He blushed, but didn't let himself pause. "Besides, it's actually kind of nice... it'll let me know you're alright."

It was Tony's turn to pause before he shook his head. "So cheesy."

Steve just smiled as he pulled the blankets over them both and Tony was curled against him in the next heartbeat, only making Steve smile widen. He wrapped an arm around the smaller man and pulled his closer, ignoring the feel of the cool metal circle pressed against his rib cage through the thin fabric of his shirt... Odd, how it could still be cooler than Tony's natural body temperature even when it was always there. Jarvis shut down the lights without any verbal prompting, leaving the two of them in the mostly dark room, again with the small amount of light that managed to shine through the fibers of the blanket to illuminating a small area.

The light really was comforting... he wasn't a huge fan of the full dark, something about being trapped in the ice all those years, all those years of the empty nothing... he could deal with it, of course. That didn't mean he enjoyed it. Maybe that was part of the reason he'd been having a hard time sleeping lately.

They both lay there, silently for a few minutes despite it being clear neither of them were asleep, Steve absent-mindedly running his fingers against Tony's side. He could feel the thin scars against the soft skin until he was sure he could draw them from the memory of the feeling. Tony, surprisingly, didn't seem to mind in the least, letting his fingers comb their way through his hair. It felt... amazing, really.

After a while, he couldn't help it. He knew it would just end up keeping him... and probably Tony, given the mans ability to think just about anything half to death, and he broke the comfortable silence. "...Tony, what _is_ going on here." He gestured blankly in the open space above them, not looking at the other mans reaction.

"That's really something that's up to you, I guess." Steves head snapped over and he met Tony's blank stare. He hated, sometimes, that Tony really could hide his emotions so well when he chose to. The dim lighting probably wasn't helping, either. "This doesn't have to be anything, if you don't want it to be."

Steve bit his lip and moved closer to the other man again. "What about you... Do you want it to be?"

Light amusement shone at the bottom of the caramel eyes. " That's not an answer."

Steve looked away again. "Well, I don't want to force you into something you don't want..."

A calloused hand slipped under his chin and pulled his face back, Tony's lips brushing over his.

"And what makes you think you could force me into something I don't want?"

Steve shivered as Tony's breath ghosted over his lips and closed the small distance there was still between them, arms wrapping around the smaller man and pulling him closer. It still wasn't close enough. Tony's tongue brushed against his lower lip and he let it slide in with a stifled gasp. Pulling away from Tony never even crossed his mind. It really didn't have much time to. Before he could pull Tony into a deeper kiss, the man pulled back slightly.

"So, do I get some kind of answer, my Captain?"

Steve moaned at the loss of the taste and warmth. "I thought I just gave you one."

Tony laughed. "Well, I'm bad with this kind of thing, you should know that by now... Not that I disapprove of you answering certain things like that, of course, but you should spell this one out for me."

Steve rolled his eyes and smiled. "I just want you, however much you're willing to give...I've never really seen you in a relationship or anything like that, but..."

Tony blinked. "But that's what you want."

Steve looked down at the dark wall again and tried to pull away. Tony held him there like an anchor. To be fair, he wasn't trying very hard. "Don't worry, I know you don't, I just want whatever you're willing to do."

Tony's stare was magnetic, pulling his own gaze up to meet them again, no matter how hard he tried to convince himself not to. They were open, warm and captivating. "Maybe I've just been waiting for the right partner." Steve jumped slightly at the word usage. He could remember saying that to Peggy... the memory was cloudy, but he was sure they had been talking about dancing. Tony just watched his reaction, examining. Maybe he was missing something.

"Sorry... just remember saying something very similar to a friend, once."

Tony lifted an eyebrow, curiosity obvious in his voice. "Oh? Do I get more than that..?"

Steve shrugged. "I'll have to tell you about it sometime."

Tony laughed quietly. "Deal."

Steve paused. "...You still haven't promised me you'd see someone tomorrow to look you over."

He could almost feel Tony rolling his eyes at him. "Fine, Fine. You win... if you can agree that you owe me a dance."

Steve frowned. Ok, he was definitely missing something. It was irritating more than anything, knowing he was clearly missing something he shouldn't be, but nothing in Tony's body language told him that he was expected to understand. He looked... more resigned, than anything. It made Steves stomach churn and all he wanted was to figure it out so he could get rid of it... Tony should never have to be resigned to anything, not when it came to him. He wanted to make it better, and it drove him mad that he couldn't.

Some of that must have shown in his eyes or his face, because Tony nudged his shoulder a bit and smiled. "What's up?"

He shook his head. " Just something's missing." Tony went still, but waited for him to finish his thought. "Not here, nothing like that, just... in my mind, you know? Probably just not getting enough sleep, but... its weird."

Tony took a second before he looked at him, slight smile still present. "I wish I could help."

Steve sighed. "Not your fault. Sorry, shouldn't be complaining about it to you..." Tony glanced away, and his eyes betrayed the slightly guilty look he was clearly attempting to hide from him. He frowned. "Wait... you know something about it, don't you?"

Tony shrugged. "It's not something for me to say, really..."

Steve took his arm carefully. "You could tell me about it, you know... it might help."

Tony rubbed his eyes with a sigh. "Look, Cap. This isn't something I can just _tell_ you about, alright? I'd really love to, but some things just don't work that way. I'm not about to lie to you about it, of course, I just... can't, you know?" Steve frowned, but nodded, just enough for Tony to tell that he agreed. He wasn't angry, really, just frustrated. Not even at Tony... he understood that there were just some things that couldn't be put to words... or were best not to be. The thing was, Steve felt a stinging presence in the back of his mind whispering that he _should_ know, that he _should_ be remembering something, but he was certain he'd manage to work himself into a migraine and pass out before he'd be able to.

He shook his head again and finally noticed how tense Tony was. He smiled into the dark, and tried to make his voice as gently unconcerned as he possibly could. "Don't worry about it. If it's something I can figure out, I _will_. Otherwise, oh well. Better not to dwell on it too hard. I'm warning you, though... I don't know how to dance." Tony relaxed and laughed lightly.

" Good thing I'm the master, then. I'll just have to teach always were understanding about that kind of thing... you have no idea how much I appreciate that." Tony shook his head, and his smile turned more gentle than most people would consider a Stark of being capable of. "You'll know if you know, otherwise, it will never matter."

Steve smiled again at the man, "You sure about that?"

"Pretty damn."

Steve relaxed a little more, hoping to get Tony to change the subject more than anything. It would be pretty easy, of course, Tony seemed just as uncomfortable about it as he was feeling himself... it was one thing to suffer through not knowing when no one else did either, it was just strange when someone else knew exactly what he was missing and couldn't tell him. Half of him wanted to push the subject, but his gut told him that it wouldn't end well. So he didn't push.

Besides they were both half asleep as it was... it would be simple enough to just fall asleep and not bring it up in the morning. But that almost felt like cheating. It was definitely the easy way out, and he'd never really been one to take the easy way, even if it was the smartest thing he could do.

"You know, our stuff is still in Wakanda."

Tony just laughed, and Steve pulled the man closer and let his warmth soak into him. He wasn't sure how he'd been managing to sleep without the extra warmth... it was so much more pleasant this way.

The room was silent for a little, and Steve was half sure Tony was asleep, despite his still normal breathing, until the man sighed and spoke. "Having trouble sleeping too, hm?"

Steve shrugged. "Usually. It's always the worst when you're really tired and still can't. This is really nice, though." The other man nodded against his shoulder.

He paused for a second in the silence, then before he gave himself a chance to think about what he was doing, he moved to push the thick blanket away from the other mans chest, but Tony jerked away at the movement.. "What the hell are you doing!?"

Steve blinked in confusion. What had he been doing? He had no right to look at something so personal. Instead of saying that, he looked for the words to explain. "I...uh, I just wanted to look at it, that's all, really."

Tony's eyes narrowed, not an insulted or even an angry way like he'd expected, but simply a confused stare. "...Why? It's not like its pleasing to look at."

Again, he paused for a second, looking for the right words. **"**It's just so...you, I suppose." Tony lifted an eyebrow. "It's so new, and sleek and bright, so ingenious and powerful. Just looking at it is enough to tell anyone that. And sure, it's not... traditional. It's alien, it's futuristic, but that doesn't mean that it isn't beautiful." He blushed, considering shutting up, but decided that he and Tony were... something at least. He trusted enough that he was able to talk to Tony about nearly anything. This shouldn't be any different,. Especially if Tony didn't decide to change his mind on their maybe relationship when the morning came around. "And if it means that you're alright, if it means you're alive, then that gives me every reason to want to see it, every second, every day. I refuse to lose you, Tony. If that keeps you here, then I owe it my sanity."

Tony paused for a second before pressing himself back against Steve, still staring at him, and smiled. "I don't know about that." Steve shrugged. Tony laughed again and pulled himself up close enough to kiss Steve again, lightly before settling his head to rest on Steves shoulder. "Trust me, you keep me more sane than you realize, too. We really do need to get some sleep." Steve mumbled his agreement.

* * *

**Well, hope you guys enjoyed this. I think I'm going to go pass out now. Busy weekend... shit, might have taken the wrong week off. Probably should have made it longer, since you guys were awesome and patient and all that, but seriously, my older sisters wedding is tomorrow, and I need sleep. So I'll just try to make the next one longer. But, hey, at least this one is out Friday morning instead of later tonight.**


	23. Intrigue

**Hey guys, glad lot of you seemed to enjoy last chapter. Naturally, it snowed during the wedding, the day before and after clear and warm as could be. So, you know. That was fun in a short dress. At any rate, I'm now sun burnt and tired now, so I hope you guys enjoy this one too. **

** Split PoV for the first time in a while. **

**"**_With impure motives and a lustful grin, I'll steal your heart again."_ The Time is Wrong by Tickle Me Pink

* * *

Steve wasn't really sure why he was surprised that Tony was still there the next morning. maybe it was that he'd never seen the man so still for so long or if it was just something in his nature that told him it wasn't normal and really, he didn't care, even before he was awake enough to know that it was alright that he was even holding the man close to him, in a bed that certainly wasn't his.

What didn't surprise him was how restless of a sleeper Tony was when he had room and the ability to move without falling off of a bench or whatever else he managed to make a bed out of. Not a violently type of restless, thank God, as some of his friends in the army had been. A punch to the face would have to be his least favorite method of being woken up. It probably wouldn't have made him so much as hesitate to sleep in Tony's bed with him again, but it would still have been tiring.

Every few minutes, the man would rearrange himself, usually managing to be more sprawled out on him than he had been before, or curled against his side. Steve was careful to avoid moving, trying to avoid waking Tony up... he wasn't scared that Tony would panic or anything, a good night of warm, comfortable sleep seemed to have helped with that, he was just certain that the man still needed more sleep. And, of course, wouldn't try to sleep again any time soon. Unless he could somehow convince him to... he'd have to work on that.

He lost track of how much time had passed between him waking up and when Tony finally began to stir.

"Mmmm, no. You are not allowed to be awake yet. Completely unfair." Even with most of Tony's words were muffled against his ribs, the vibration of Tony's voice against him it was simple enough to understand, especially since it forced a particularly pleasant shiver to run down his spine. He was lucky Tony didn't seem to notice.

"Please, I'm always awake before you. Well, when you decide to sleep, anyway."

Tony just hummed his disagreement and didn't move away, if anything, tightening his arms from where they had managed to slide around his waist. Steve finally allowed himself to move, turning to his side and wrapped his own arms around the smaller mans shoulders., soaking in their shared warmth.

Tony sighed contentedly. "You know, this would be a lot more comfortable with less clothes in this bed..."

Steve smiled, and ignored the blush he knew was there. He was starting to think that Tony was just too good at making him blush. And he doubted that Tony would agree with him. "Hmm. We should probably get up."

"Yeah, you really should." They both jumped about a foot at the sound of Coulsons voice and stared widely at the man leaning against the wall across from them. "As much as I really, really don't want to kn ow whats going on here, we're going to have to talk about this after the team is debriefed."

Tony, it seemed, was fully awake now, sitting up just enough to glare at the agent while still holding Steve where he was, as if he thought Steve would bolt. "Ok, Seriously. This is my room, right? Was pretty sure it was. So why the hell are you in it?"

Coulson glared back at him. "Maybe because I was ordered to come in here to yell at you guys for skipping out on your debriefing, and managed to find you spooning Captain America? Dammit, Fury is going to be pissed."

Steve cleared his throat, trying to return the glare Coulson was shooting at Tony. " I don't see how it's Shield business on who I decide to be with."

Coulson's glare slipped when he turned to his idol and rubbed his eyes wearily. "We'll, Captain, unfortunately for you, it is. Shield owns you, and won't like the fact the Stark is corrupting you."

Steves eyes shot wide and he felt Tony tense over him. "Owns... him? What the fuck is wrong with you people?"

Steve, for his part, couldn't even manage to get that much out over the rage he could feel in his gut, blocking his throat. Coulson just continued to rub his eyes, ignoring their anger. " That's the way the higher-ups see it, ok? They found you, they own you. Not saying it's right or smart, but you try to convince them otherwise. Not that simple."

Knowing that Coulson clearly didn't agree let his anger ebb enough for him to speak. "You do realize that's completely un-american, don't you? And How the hell do you think Tony is...'corrupting' me?"

Coulson just shrugged at him. "Like I said, it's out of my hands to act on how I feel about it. That's not what I'm paid for. And Stark is... well, he's him. Sooner or later, he'll screw up and hurt you."

Tony sunk back a bit into Steve, and Steve had to be careful not to hold him as tightly as his body commanded him to. He might hurt the man. Tony's glare became searing and he spoke before Steve could start yelling. "And Fury wonders why I have a problem with Shield and their idiocy." He moved to get up, but Steve refused to let go. Those bright brown eyes darted to him and softened a little before he continued. "Don't worry, Fury and I will have to have a... talk...about all of this." He turned back to Coulson. "And yeah, sure. I'm a Fucking screw up when it comes to a lot of things. That's not news. But I am not about to do anything to mess this up, so back. The fuck. Off."

If Coulson hadn't already been leaning against a wall, Steve would bet money the man would be backing farther away from the angry heroes right now. The man was pretty unflappable, but it had to be intimidating to piss off Captain America and Iron Man in general, together? He wasn't sure even Fury would be able to hold his composure in that situation. Still, the man was doing as well as could be expected when expected to go and insult the two of them, especially since it was very clear that he disagreed and wasn't happy about having to do so. It wasn't his fault, really, but Steve couldn't help but being pissed at him anyway. He felt like hurting something. Not necessarily Coulson, or anything, but the urge was still there.

But then, he really didn't want to get up, and release his hold on Tony. The latter seemed like a much better way to spend his time, anyway. He glared over to Coulson. "I'm going to try to keep this civil. Get out before I'm forced to remove you."

Coulson nodded slightly and got to the door more quickly than his slow walk would seem to manage. Tony let out an angry breath before looking back up at him. "My hero."

He felt the tension race out of him, and smiled at Tony. "Always."

Tony took a second to laugh and roll his eyes before he sighed again and frowned. "We really have to get up and go deal with this before that asshole comes in here himself, don't we?"

Steve sighed and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes with one hand, pulling Tony closer to his chest. "Probably, yeah."

"But you don't want to..?"

He smiled to himself. "Please, when's the next time you think I'll manage to get you into bed with me?" He regretted the wording of that as soon as it left his mouth. At least it helped him to forget the anger.

"Wow, Cap, didn't think you were that forward. I think we could arrange something..."

He slapped the mans arm lightly with a roll of his eyes.

"You knew what I meant."

Tony shrugged. "Doesn't mean I'm not allowed to tease you." Steve rolled his eyes at him. " So, think you're ok to get up without killing anyone?"

...Alright, maybe Tony might know him a little too well. That was probably a good thing. "Hmm. Maybe if you can hold me back."

The smaller man raised an eye-brow at him. "Right... because I'm completely capable of doing that, muscles."

Steve smiled and leaned down to kiss him lightly, that shame spine tingling chill running down his spine when he felt Tony's mouth curl into an answering smile under him. He pulled back before he let himself get too carried away... he knew he was probably right about Fury barging in, after all. "Really, though. I'll be find. Not like I haven't dealt with people I disagree with being in command before."

Tony grinned and shook his head. "Yeah, fair enough. You are better at keeping your temper... you might just have to hold me back."

Steve rolled his eyes. "Easier said than done." Tony just shrugged back and leaned up to steal another quick kiss before rolling out of his arms onto his feet and stretched. Bruises covered most of his torso, a scattered assortment of cuts paining red onto the black and blue. Steve refused to leave the residual warmth that remained where the other man had been, letting himself wake up as slowly as he could manage. Odd... he'd always imagined Tony as being the harder to of them to wake up in the mornings.

He let his eyes drift back closed when Tony left the room and he heard the steady spray of the shower start up. He woke up again with a clean shirt to the face, and an amused Tony staring down at him, hair damp and wild. He decided he preferred the mans hair like this, when it wasn't styled. When it was, it was hard to see him as person he could spend so much time with. He just seemed too serious. And when Tony was serious, they were in a lot of trouble.

He was pretty convinced that the only reason he managed to even convince himself to get out of the bed was just to run his hands through Tony's hair. It felt different when it was wet... somehow softer, lighter. Tony closed his eyes and leaned into him for a second before pulling back a small ways.

"You know, you should totally let me take you out for dinner tonight."

Steve paused, and gave him a small smile, trying not to betray how giddy the thought alone made him. It was almost unfair. "Is that so?" Tony nodded. "I don't know, maybe I want to take you out instead."

Tony rolled his eyes. "Steve, I'm rich. I'm not about to let you spend money on me."

Steve frowned slightly. "That doesn't matter. If I feel like it, I'm going to, simple as that. You're just going to have to learn to deal with it."

Even through the disbelieving frown Tony was giving him, it was clear he was hiding a smile. "We'll just have to see about that."

Steve paused again. "You're going to sabotage me, aren't you?"

The other man smirked. " Every chance I get."

"Cheater."

"Oh, right, because you really expected _me_ to play fair, here."

Steve couldn't help but laugh. He did have a point... but he was pretty certain he'd be able to out stubborn Tony if he really wanted to.

He turned his back to Tony and tried not to blush too much as he pulled off his shirt from yesterday and quickly shrugged on the new one... it was a little tight across his chest and had some creature that looked like a mix between a beaver and a deer on the from bright orange lettering spelling out "Assuming We Survive." Knowing Tony and his wardrobe, he figured it was some band t-shirt. He smiled down at the ridiculous logo and didn't say anything... if Tony wanted him to wear his clothing, he wasn't about to complain.

It wasn't like he'd never changed clothing in front of other people before, and he really wasn't so self conscious about it, usually... it was just something about Tony that made him a little too aware of everything. When he turned back, sure enough, Tony was staring at him with half closed eyes and a soft smile. "Need a bigger shirt? Because I'm pretty sure I don't have one."

Steve smiled shyly back. "No, this will work. I don't feel like going to get my own clothes anyway." Tony smiled even wider, eyes shining.

"Good. Because it looks better on you than it ever did on me, anyway." Steve started to argue, but Tony didn't let him interject. "Nope, no time for you to disagree. Seriously, we should get downstairs. I'm already unhappy enough as it is that Coulson was in my room, I'm not letting Fury up as well. Just you."

Steve laughed and shook his head before following that man to the elevator. He doubted there would ever be a time he'd be able to stop blushing around Tony.

The common living room area of the tower was more crowded than he'd though it would be... he'd expected one agent, maybe two to talk with them while they filled out paperwork, maybe around the kitchen table. No. there was at least twelve agents just wandering around the room at least two sitting with each of the others, grilling them on yesterdays events. It was like his own little personal army hell on earth. Perfect. Tony looked less than pleased.

Steve looked around the room, trying to ignore the scattered assortment of Shield agents that were trying-with varied success- to speak to the rest of the team. "Hey, 'Tahsa, where's Thor?"

She turned in his direction without ever letting her eyes drift away from the paperwork she was filling out. "Went back to Asgard to talk to Loki about all of this. Said he'd be back shortly." Steve nodded, completely certain that even if she wasn't looking at him, she'd catch the movement.

Tony looked around off to one side. "So, where Fury? I'm sure he had to be around here somewhere, given Coulson was forced to come get us." Clint shot them a speculative look and Steve pretended not to notice Tony flipping him off.

Bruce turned to face them long enough to gesture towards one of the closed doors that led to a guest room.

Steve looked back at Tony, how had taken up glaring at the door. "Want me to go talk to him?"

Tony shook his head and stared at the closed door. "No... I think I need to talk to Fury on my own. You just stay out here, describe yesterday to the Agents, ok? Maybe if I'm lucky, by the time I'm finished in here, they won't even need to talk to me about it."

Most of the others looked confused, but there was a spark of intrigued understanding behind Natasha's eyes. Clint and Bruce just nodded. Steve moved towards Tony, fully intending on going in with him anyway, just in case he actually did end up needing to hold him back from trying to attack the Director, but once glance from Tony stopped him. He didn't need any words to understand the man with that look, and he wasn't offered any. Instead he nodded back to him, and let him enter the room on his own. He hoped it wasn't a mistake, but he trusted Tony not to do anything to get himself into trouble.

* * *

**T**

In hindsight, maybe it wasn't the best idea he'd ever had to try and punch Fury in the face. Sure as hell was satisfying, though. Of course, Fury pulled back before his fist connected very hard, but the shocked, confused glare he gave him definitely made being tackled and have three guns jabbing at his side made it completely worth it. Still, he was glad that he'd made the others stay behind for this. He wasn't sure they wouldn't be thinking the same thing.

"Stark, I'm giving you one chance to be smart and tell me what the fuck that was about."

"Is 'you deserved it, you self-entitled prick' a good enough answer?"

Fury sighed and motioned the agents the had him pinned back, and Tony gave a grunt as one of their knees left his spine, and he stood before he could look weak. "Might need more of an explanation than that."

"Ok, lets start with you thinking you can just come into my home whenever you feel like it and demand anything of me after I just helped put two dangerous aliens in your custody. Or hell, maybe directing your attack dog Coulson to go after me and Steve when it's- clearly- none of your business whats going on between the two of us. Maybe it's even that you seem to think there's nothing wrong with the fact that _you think you own him._"

"What, and you seem to think you have some right to him?"

Tony stopped, standing completely still. "What... he's a fucking human being. In case you didn't know this: you can't own people anymore. Never thought I'd have to explain that to you."

Fury's eye narrowed. "He's a potential danger to the public. All of you are. That gives Shield ever right to claim ownership of you to keep you under control. Like it or not, Shield owns each of you. We're responsible for you, It is our place to control your actions that could potentially make us look bad and there isn't much you are able to do about it."

Tony's eyes narrowed. "I beg to differ."

"Stark, each of you owe us your life."

"No more than you owe me yours. Or Steve. Or Natasha. Or any of us. And I'd love to try to see you explain your logic here to Thor."

Fury shook his head. "As long as he stays in line, I don't think I'll ever have to."

"Oh, but everyone else who couldn't just fry your ass when angry it's completely fine to tell they don't get their own lives because they chose to do something to help people, that it?"

"Stark, I'm starting to think you came here just with the intentions of starting a fight."

"What, me punching you in the face was too subtle?"

"Watch yourself, Stark..."

Tony snorted. "Or what? You'll have your pups shoot me? I really don't think that Shield could get away with shooting one of their heroes, not to mention, without funds from SI, or me around to repair this floating hunk of metal, you wouldn't be operating much longer."

"We wouldn't have to shoot you, just declare you a traitor and arrest you. It's perfectly within our rights."

Tony rolled his eyes and gave the Director a cruel smile. "And what, force me to fix things for you? Yeah, how about you ask the last guys who tried that method how it worked out for them. And good luck getting Pepper to agree to keep supporting you assholes. Trust me, she's already not a huge fan of yours. Not to mention I count of a few people to hold a grudge if you really want to try this."

Fury sighed and shook his head, motioning for the others to all leave. They hesitated for half a second before crowding out of the door. "Stark, we both know it's an idol threat. From what I hear, if I tried, I'd have an angry Hulk and Captain America to deal with, not to mention everyone else who lives in your tower. But you seem to think there's a choice. You think that the public wouldn't panic if it seemed like Shield didn't have some sort of handle on the group of you?"

Tony's eyes narrowed. "But you don't have one. You're not a complete idiot, you have to know that."

Fury nodded. "Sure, _I _Do. So does Widow and Hawkeye. Hill has noticed it, and because of this, rumors will be spreading like wildfire around Shield. It's clear now that you are here to protect us, under the sign of Shield, but what do you think would happen the second that idea vanishes from people's minds? A shining example is Spiderman. He's obviously doing some good, but since no one of any special repute had told the public he's on their leash specifically, he's just some costumed freak running around New York. He's just damn lucky no one knows who he really is under that mask."

"You see, you say these things, but have you assholes ever tried to help the kid? Yeah, didn't think so. And you don't think that we'd be alright dealing with that if it meant that Shield wasn't around trying to _actually_ control our actions. I know better than anyone how the public opinion can get you killed if you aren't careful, I understand the smoke and mirrors you're trying to explain like I'm some idiot toddler. But there is a difference between putting up a show and believing your own lies. And it's cute that you think you'll convince any of us to keep playing along as soon as they realize you are so deluded into thinking you actually can do anything to control us, really it is, but seriously. It needs to stop. Before one of us decides to make you."

Fury growled between his clenched teeth. "Oh? And what do you suggest we do? Panic the public? Let them know that the monster that terrorized them and destroyed Harlem isn't under any sort of control, that he could go nuts again? Or that two of the most dangerous assassins are running around among them, pretending to be normal?"

"How about letting them know the heroes that saved the damn world are watching their backs, and will help them no matter what, even if Shield disagrees. Oh, or here's an idea: don't bother telling them. No matter what happens, you'll have people who are against you. You don't rely on them, they know they aren't safe without you, nothing is going to happen if suddenly you stop trying to run our lives, you know."

"You're starting to sound like a whining kid, Stark."

"Well, it might help if you were to stop acting like a horrible parent that no one ever wanted."

"Spare me the dramatics, just because you have daddy issues..."

"I'm serious. Never have children. And just so you know, it's been a long time since I got over any 'daddy issues' I might have had." Tony narrowed his eyes at the dark man who just glared back. "Hopefully we understand each other?" Fury gave a short nod before pushing past Tony to get to the door. Tony stopped him with one hand on the shoulder. "Oh, and just so we're clear... if you ever call Bruce a monster again, I will ruin you. Now get out of my house."

This time as Fury left, he let him, letting the slow, churning anger in the bottom of his gut cool a little at what he considered to be a win.

He walked out of the room and watched Fury walk past the rest of his team, his agents following behind him without speaking a word to any of them. Just as well... if he'd have tried, he didn't think it would go very well for the man.

Clint was the first one to break the awkward silence that followed the Shield agents out of the open space around them, leaving only those that lived in the tower. "Well... he looks pissed. What did you manage to say to him this time?"

Tony shrugged, not bothering to try and act calm or put on the fake smile he usually wore. " Just straightening some things between us out. Setting him straight on a few things." It was clear that everyone there save Steve, even Natasha, were thrown off slightly by the change in his normal behavior.

Bruce coughed. "Do we even want to know about it?"

Tony thought for a second. They probably would, he guessed, it did concern all of them and now that he'd handled things, they wouldn't have to... but at the same time, he _really_ wasn't in any sort of mood to talk about it. "yeah... yeah you do."

The others waited for him to continue as he collapsed next to Steve on the couch. Clint finally broke. "You do realize that usually is what people say when they aren't don't talking about things, don't you?" Tony shrugged.

"Just don't feel like getting into it. Doesn't mean you guys don't want to know, what you expect me to lie and say you wouldn't want to know? Have some damn patience and wait til I want to tell you about it. Or, shit, if you want your ass handed to you, I guess you could always go ask Fury. I'm sure he won't be Mr. Sunshine about the whole thing, though."

Clint rolled his eyes. "Ok... well if you don't feel like talking about that, how about you at least tell us what the hell is going on between the two of you, then?"

Tony looked away from the teams now staring eyes over to Steve. Sure, as far as he understood things, they were kind of dating... but he wasn't sure if Steve was alright with them knowing about it.

Steve smiled back and decided to answer for him. Which he did not at all mind. Instead of being forced to focus on the question and reactions, he just leaned against Steve and watched the others.

"We've talked about it and it I don't think it should be a problem as far as team dynamics go, but we're going to be seeing each other."

Natasha raised an eyebrow in their direction. "So... dating?"

Tony grinned back at her and nodded, trying not to laugh at Steve's wording. Sure, people still said things like that in this day and age and everything, but it was still so... indirect.

Clint turned back to the others grinned widely. "I would just like to be the first one to say: Called it."

Bruce rolled his eyes. "Dude, we all called that one."

"Which is why I specifically said first. So, who's up for a lazy ass night watching crappy movies?"

Steve shook his head, but Tony was quicker to answer. "Pretty sure Steve and I already have plans... so stay the hell out of my shop."

Clint gave them both a rather betrayed glare. "You made plans... without _us?_

Tony shifted his eyes to the archer and glared a little. " We are allowed to have plans, you know. Our lives don't revolve around you."

Clint frowned back. "Yeah, but you two have been gone for a week. You shouldn't be running around without us the day after you get back!"

Steve interjected before they could continue to argue. He'd have to thank him later... he was starting to get a headache and Clint whining wasn't helping. " How about we all just spend tomorrow watching movies and training. It's not like we have to be alert all the time anymore, as long as Shield manages to hold onto those two."

Clint pouted a little but nodded anyway. "As long we agree on more movies than training... I don't know about you guys, I'm still pretty sore."

Tony laughed. "You guys do realize there's a hot tub and a sauna in on the second floor, right?" everyone in the room stopped, and turned to look at him in disbelief. "Ok, you guys really didn't know? The door is right next to the gym, guys, how is it that none of you thought to explore it!?"

Clint and Bruce exchanged a look and both jumped out of their chairs towards the door. Natasha still managed to beat them both.

Tony half covered his laugh and stood, stretching as he got up and turned back to Steve. "You want to go check it out too?"

The man shrugged. "Maybe later... still too early for me to get excited about hot water."

He laughed again and smiled lightly. "Still wanting to go do dinner tonight or would you rather just relax here and be with the team?"

The man smiled back and nodded. "Not really in the mood for movies. Dinner still sounds nice."

"Guess we should go find something a little better to wear out, then huh?"

Steve laughed. "What, this early? It's not even noon yet, Tony."

He shrugged against Steve's chest. "Maybe I want to have you all to myself for longer than just dinner. Come on, we'll go explore New York. You probably haven't had time to do that since you woke up, hm?"

Steve's smile grew wider. "You really want to!?" Tony smiled back and nodded, enjoying the excitement that shone in those too blue eyes more than he should have. But, hell. It was his boyfriend, he'd enjoy it as much as he liked, thank you. "I guess we should think about leaving soon then... even back in my time, one day was not enough time to see some of the best parts of the City."

Tony was still surprised when Steve managed to walk calmly over to the elevator instead of running, given how excited he seemed. He started to follow him, but a hand on his shoulder made him stop. He wasn't all that shocked to see Agent Coulson.

"I never thought I'd actually be put in a position to say this, but for the love of God, please just don't just have sex with Captain America. "

"You realize that there is no way in hell I would ever consider keeping that promise, right?"

Coulson sighed. "Yeah, yeah I know. Can't blame me for asking."

Honestly, it was as if everyone had lost their minds and for some reason though that he was going to go rape Steve. It was getting just getting silly. Really, they were both grown ass men, perfectly capable of deciding if they wanted to have a little fun and who with. Besides, it wasn't likely that Steve was ready for that sort of thing. Which, ok, kinda sucked, but he'd live. Not like he needed sex to survive, regardless of what the media thought.

Tony rubbed his eyes. "Need anything, Coulson, or are you just here to tell me not to seduce your childhood hero? "

The man shrugged uncomfortably. "Actually, I came to talk to you to make sure that we were alright." Tony raised an eyebrow at him and the man let out another reluctant sigh. "Look, I know we don't always get along, and this is an awkward thing for the both of us, but you're one of the only people I feel I can actually trust. I just wanted to make sure that your... disagreement... with Fury wasn't going to change that."

Tony snorted. Disagreement, his ass. "You're a dick, sometimes and I doubt we'll ever get along or agree on shit for long, but I guess that's just our dynamic. We're fine, agent, so long as you realize that we aren't objects as the dear Director seemed to believe."

Coulson's lip twitched into what might have been the beginnings of a smile. "You should know better than to think that of me."

* * *

** Ok, so, I like Coulson. I really do. Which means I don't mean to make him seem like a complete asshole, it just has to happen sometimes. So sorry, I'll have to try to redeem him when and however I can later. Also, I usually don't hate Fury that much, but sometimes the best bad guys are the ones who think they are the good guys. So, you know, when the shoe fits. **

** Hope you guys liked this chapter and hopefully the Friday one will be up earlier in the day rather than later. **


	24. Solace

**New chapter, hope you guys enjoyed the last one, once I got into writing it, it was really easy... well, it was in parts, then it was kind of hard to connect all those parts in time to post it on Tuesday. Just one of those things, I guess, and much better than not having anything to write at all. **

** So, New Marvel Shield show: pretty good. Interesting. Hope you guys are watching that as well. It probably won't come up in the story or anything, but if I like one of the characters enough, technically they are cannon so they might show up. **

"_I came back with the belief that everyone I love is gonna leave." _It's All Alright~Fun.

* * *

If Steve had been a puppy, Tony was pretty certain he'd have been lost within the first five minutes of leaving the car, even if he did insist that he knew exactly where he was. And Tony was sure that he did know, of course... but a lot of things had changed. His "here" didn't exactly match up with how Steve would remember it. But he was just happy to explore the city, if only to watch the way Steve's face light up when he recognized anything.

Actually, it had been years since he had done anything like this, and being who he was, he was used to people swarming all over him, both the media and the general population. Which, of course, happened what seemed to be every few feet, and Steve didn't seem to know how to react to it. Even with his experience from the USO show, all of it was just on a different level.

Sure, even back then he'd been seen and respected as a hero, but after defeating Aliens, and having just about everything all over the internet, there was no way in hell anyone, especially in New York, didn't realize that. Well, No way that they knew... didn't mean everyone enjoyed that fact. Tony had to wonder why, no matter the situation, there was always that one person yelling at them for doing their job, for saving the people.

They should be happy to be alive, and that the earth was still in once piece... but no, of course there was the one person complaining that they had made the wrong call, that maybe if they hadn't attacked, the aliens wouldn't have been as aggressive as they had. Or that maybe they were the reasons they had even shown up in the first place, and while _technically_ true, it was Shield who had drawn them out, not the Avengers. Few people saw the difference, lately, something that he found bothered him to no end after his talk with Fury.

Then there were those assholes that insisted that they should have been quicker, better, that it was their individual faults that one of their friends or family members had been injured or hurt in the attack, actually attempting to sue them for it. Not that any had been successful or even taken seriously, but still. It happened, and it pissed him off. Sometimes, he really hated the people he was working so hard to save. And generally, he seemed to be the only one to notice that kind of shit. But, then, maybe he was the only one who had been in the middle of the media from the minute he was born, and was able to see past all of the rest.

So, he kept his head down, and let Steve try and enjoy the positive attention... knowing perfectly well, of course, that Steve had never been a big fan of it. But it was a good experience for him, anyway, and something he'd have to get used to if he really wanted a relationship with him. It was inevitable, after all, and while he despised it, there was no way to get out of it, not for him, and not the the others, now that they were on the public's radar as much as he was.

When it looked like it was getting out of his hands and he was overwhelmed, of course Tony did what he was best at: He stepped in, grabbed all of the attention away from the Captain and managed to get them both away from the vultures before they realized what was going on. Even if Steve didn't say anything about it, it was obvious how thankful he was about all of it based purely on the looks he gave him whenever it would happen.

It was probably one of the calmest day he'd ever had, when it cam to not getting attacked by reporters every five seconds... after about two hours, he decided it was probably due to him looking beat up past all hell, maybe not even looking much like himself, and that not many people recognized Steve as Captain America. In fact, none of the reporters even seemed to. They just were wondering about his story during the attack, his thoughts on it all, or why he was with Tony. Tony was sure one or two reporters managed to put two and two together and actually see who he was, maybe even what was going on, but they actually respected his privacy... that part was baffling. Maybe they were just more intimidated by his size, fuck, he didn't know. People were weird, he might as well just give up on trying to get it.

Even with the randomly appearing crowds, they made good time. Especially since most of the city had been cleaned up by now, and they weren't going to any of the biggest tourist traps. Most of those had been there long enough not to have changed in the slightest since Steve had lived there and had seen them every day of his young life, so he wasn't too interested in things like that. Tony was grateful for that... he'd probably have been bored out of his mind if he'd been dragged around Coney island in the middle of the day, or Time Square, just to wander about or the Statue of Liberty when if Steve really wanted to go see that, he knew he just had to ask and Tony would _fly_ them around it instead. He was sure Steve knew him well enough to know that.

Mostly, it was just the museums, Steve insisting in dragging him to all sorts of food trucks and cafes... all of which the other man sneakily tried to pay, and getting beaten to it every time. He didn't seem too happy about that, but he never stopped trying. Tony was starting to consider letting him, just to make him happy. And of course, Tony would insist on going to any art galleries they passed by. He couldn't have cared less, he'd never been too interested in it, seeing as he had no skill as soon as a drawling required a face, but Steve did and he needed to be cheered up, even if he didn't act like it.

He wished he knew more about how to go about everything, though. He certainly had no experience with being in relationships and neither did Steve, not to mention him still seeming to be uneasy about it all. So he didn't feel right about trying to cuddle up to the other mans side, and only teased him sparingly. He did convince him to give him a piggy back ride later in the day, with was a plus. How he managed that, he was still asking himself, and it definitely earned them weird looks. He had to laugh when he noticed the only reaction Steve gave that was either a smile or a wink in the crowds direction without a pause. He must be rubbing off on him.

It was great getting back home, really. Not that he wasn't having fun, but he'd never really been able to relax and be himself when there were other people around. The Tower was at least safe to do that... not to mention he was hurting like hell, and mentally cursing his bruises. He was getting really sick and tired of hurting.

Not like they got any more privacy at home anyway, not with some of the assholes they lived with. Namely Clint, since Thor was back in Asgard and didn't seem to understand that people preferred to be alone sometimes. And naturally, the archer couldn't have been bothered to put clothes on past his swim shorts, much less dry himself off. Tony blames Jarvis for tipping him off to their arrival. He'd just have to get dummy to mop up the water.

And, naturally, Clint immediately tried dragging them off to go swimming with the others. Tony certainly wasn't as bad about water as he had been a few years ago, when he'd first gotten out of the caves, but he preferred to think of it as having a mutual agreement between them... they just hated each other. Simple. Best not to fuck up things up... but Steve seemed to be interested in to. So, he'd put it aside and live with it. He had a sauna for a reason, after all. And that should help him stop being so sore.

* * *

**S**

Steve wasn't sure how irritated Tony was, and that was something completely new to him. The only reason he wasn't worried about it was because it clearly wasn't at him... more at the reporters that kept ambushing them and tried to interview Steve on the fight. Not Captain America... just as Steve. Again, that was something he wasn't used to. He was another face, just one more person blending into the crowd again... it was weird to think that 70 years erased the knowledge of his actual face, and made people think that Captain America wasn't a real person.

He found that he was loving it. But at the same time, it killed him a little bit that Tony couldn't experience that... from what he knew, he'd never experienced anything of the sort. He'd always been walked, always expected to be what everyone else wanted him to be. It physically hurt him to know that. How that worked, he had no idea, but it still did.

It hurt that he was too frightened to hold the mans hand because he didn't want everyone in the world to watch, and try to edge their way into their lives, or be himself like he was in the Tower. And the thing was... he knew Tony would be alright with that. He wouldn't care if they were all over the internet or in the paper for weeks. But it terrified Steve. He wanted a chance to enjoy being a no one again while he could, and even if that wouldn't out him, the gravity of people's interest around Tony would drag him in. And Tony seemed to know that without him having to say anything. He was tempted to just say screw it, and do it anyway.

He knew immediately that Tony felt out of place whenever they went into one of the many art galleries... it wasn't something that he was sure others would notice, the small changes in how the man walked, the way his eyes slanted... it was like he was at an event he had to look his best at. It wasn't bad, or anything, it was just... odd, to be able to notice that small of a change in him. He was something he was forced to do, and he slipped into it seamlessly.

That had to be how Tony so easily managed to convince him to give him a piggy back ride around a few blocks. It was just so ridiculously innocent and cute and everything that no one out here would ever connect Tony Stark to that he couldn't refuse. And the looks people gave them just made him laugh. It confused him that for someone who was constantly under every persons eye, none of them knew anything about him past his intelligence. And they didn't even realize it. It made him irrationally angry, something that he'd thought he'd gotten over.

Overall, despite being nervous, it was really great. He would have said he wished it wouldn't end, and would have been reluctant to go home, but he was still pretty worn out, and it was clearly Tony was as well, not to mention sore.

It was a little creepy how quickly Clint pounced on them. As soon as they walked in the front door, actually. In his swim trunks... dripping wet. How he had any idea they were even on their way home, Steve had no idea. He could almost feel Tony rolling his eyes at the man as he tracked water through the walkway as he sprinted towards them.

"It's about damn time, you guys, what did you crawl around New York? Seriously, how do you manage to wander around for hours?"

Steve raised an eyebrow at him. "Because it's easy if you actually take your time and look at thinks."

Clint glared at him lightly. "Please. I've wandered around the City hundreds of times for Shield. I've seen everything and it's never taken me more then three hours."

Tony swatted at him. "Yeah, not everyone is a spy that makes his living by seeing shit. Not everyone likes to do that, you know."

"They totally should. Saves time."

"Yes, because we're all in such a hurry, and don't want to just enjoy anything in life. That would be silly..."

"Oh, bullshit, I enjoy plenty of things in life."

"Right... I'm sure."

Steve shook his head and moved past where Clint was standing, ignoring the two as they argued, trying to avoid getting pulled into it again. Nothing about it could make it end well. It was just something that was inevitable with an argument between anyone, especially when it was between Clint and Tony... both very good at sticking to their opinions, and while he was certain Tony was the type that would let it go if Clint did, Clint was one to beat his opinion into someone until they agreed. It was like Tony's bane. Surprising how well the two got along, really.

Of course, Clint being Clint, there wasn't a way that Steve could get away from him without him noticing. The joys of being around spies, constantly. "Come on, Steve! Hot tub! You know you want to, it's soooooo nice."

He heard Tony sigh, and appear on his other side, exchanging an apologetic look with Steve. Steve just smiled back and shrugged, and turned back to Clint.

"Fine, Just give us a second to go get changed, alright?"

Clint rolled his eyes. "You realize how weird it is for you to be answering for both of you? I think you transitioned into the whole relationship mode too quickly..." He paused for a second then shivered. "Actually, scratch that. I've had to watch you skirting around it for a month, this is fine."

Steve had to blush, but Tony just laughed, that light behind his eyes telling him he knew something the others didn't again. He was going to have to figure out what it was, that was going to drive him absolutely insane before too long, no matter what Tony said about it. He wished he had an idea of how he could go about it...

Maybe he could find a way to talk to T'Challa. As creepy as it was, he seemed to know something more than he should. The thing was, Tony was just about the only person who could even get into contact with Wakanda in general, and he had told him not to worry about it... maybe he could talk to Jarvis about it.

He shook his head and gestured Tony to follow after him. He wasn't as surprised as he would have been a few weeks ago that he did so without complaint, leaving Clint to watch after them for a few feet before he sprinted off back towards the heat, completely steady on the wet floors despite being barefooted.

Steve had to roll his eyes to himself... not like the archer would ever learn not to run like that. At least he never had to worry about him getting himself hurt. Wow, sometimes he felt like more of a parent for the man rather than a team-mate... thankfully that only happened in the Tower. If he'd have been as difficult in the field and unable to hold his own... he had no idea how he'd deal with something like that. He had a feeling he wouldn't have ever had to. As angry as he was with Shield, he had to admit they were wonderful when it came to choosing people who were able to handle themselves. As it turned out, that wasn't always the best thing, as this morning had proven. He respected him for it, but Coulson really needed to choose a side.

He made a mental note to find his whenever he could and talk to the man about it. Maybe if he was put more on the spot about things, he would actually start choosing the teams side, like he should have from the start. From a military point of view, he could understand... it's what he was paid to do, and it just wasn't worth it to go against the beliefs of a superior. But something Tony had said to him when they had first met always stuck with him that made him see that it _wasn't_ a military operation that Shield had. They weren't Soldiers. They didn't see themselves that way, and they certainly weren't connected with any specific country, despite _Captain America_ being the leader of their superhero response team.

He didn't see how it was right to be treating civilians, people who gave up their lives to protect the people others never could, like the Soldiers that they clearly could never see themselves as. That's not who they were, and Steve had learned quickly to be alright with that. And the huge thing was, people like Coulson and Fury didn't see that. That wasn't how they were as people. They _were_, at their core, a military group in and of themselves. Which is why, after he calmed down a little, he could see why they found it perfectly natural that they, in a manner, owned them. It was not something he had really agreed with, but it was how things had always worked, even back in his own time. But now, no matter how he looked at it... it was just _wrong_.

He really needed to find a way to convince them to see that they weren't that. Once he was able to, he was certain that there would be a better understanding between the two groups. It certainly couldn't get much worse. He was certain that he could convince Coulson to see that, that would be simple enough. He was the closest to the team, he saw their dynamic, their day to day lives. Hell, he more or less got along with Tony. He was the closest there was to see how they saw them was wrong. And he was Fury's right hand. Maybe it would actually work out to help him convince the rest of them, and start treating them closer to what they were.

He shook his head. Better to not over think it. Not now. He'd much prefer to concentrate on other things. Nice hot water and his friends, for instance right now sounded fantastic. He looked behind him again as he got into the elevator, a ridiculously overwhelming thrill running through him to see Tony still there. He knew it shouldn't have made him as excited as it did, but he didn't mind it in the least. Tony smiled back to him quickly before letting it slip off as he went off into his own mind again. Steve wondered if he should be worried about that, and decided not to be. Tony was usually lost in some idea or another. If he was worried about anything, much as he refused to admit, he had tells Steve was able to read.

He hit the buttons for both of their respective floors, and let Tony lean against him wordlessly as it started moving. He smiled into the windblown brown hair and closed his eyes, letting the smooth motion of moving relax him. His stop was before Tony's, and he sighed as the doors slid open, taking his time, knowing full well that Jarvis wouldn't close the doors until he was out. It was hard to imagine that this is what his life had turned into... living in the future, dating the most incredible person he'd ever seen, being delivered to his story in one of the biggest Towers in one of the biggest city in the world by an advanced artificial intelligence controlling an elevator. He was sure he'd never be used to it.

"Meet you down there in a few minutes?"

Tony shook his head and snapped out of whatever had his attention with a smile. "Hm? Oh, right. Swimming and shit. Yeah, be down as soon as I'm changed."

Steve smiled back and leaned in carefully for a gentle kiss before he stepped out. Tony seemed slightly surprised, but grinned after him as the doors slid back closed. He smiled to himself and tried not to stumble as he found his light. He knew he should probably have his blinds open, but he wasn't used to being so far above the city line... and he sure as hell wasn't scared or anything of the heights, just the sun came up too early for him to be comfortable with.

It took him all of two seconds to get him shorts, and strip down to throw them on before he left again, then he was going back downstairs, half hoping Tony would be waiting in the elevator again for him. He wasn't of course, so the ride back down was a bit more lonely. At least he was used enough to the Tower to find the door Tony had been talking about earlier without any problem. It was ridiculous he'd never though to look behind this door, given how much time he spent in the gym.

The rest of the team were all in the hot tub in the center of the room... if it could still be called a hot tub. It was more of a small, heated pool with seats by the looks of it. Clint seemed to be ecstatic about it, too. Clint in a small space for an extended amount of time didn't sound like a lot of fun. He nodded a greeting to the others and slid into the hot water... it was hotter than he'd expected it to be, and took longer for him to ease into it than he would have liked, but once fully in, it was impossibly soothing. He wished they would have had this sort of thing back when he and his team were doing ops in Europe... it would have made it much more bearable.

He closed his eyes and leaned back against the smooth porcelain walls of side of the pool with a sigh, only to open them a few minutes later when Tony came in. he frowned at the tank top he was wearing, but at least he had actual swim shorts on. It did nothing to hide the Arc reactor, but the bruises scattered on across his chest were for the most part hidden.

He sat on the edge of the small pool next to him, and let his legs slip into the steaming water, but didn't move to actually get in. Steve frowned up at the man. "Not joining us?"

Tony just shrugged. "Not really feeling hot tub. I don't know, just doesn't sound appealing." Bruce and Natasha were both staring at him, waiting for some other explanation that Tony clearly wasn't about to give them. Clint just went on relaxing in his own corner, perfectly content in the steaming water.

Steve made a noise and considered it. Yesterday had been difficult, he supposed... brought back horrible memories for him. He remembered he had to have read somewhere about how the man had been tortured, got a flash memory he didn't remember of the man standing in a shower, totally unresponsive and so far away that no matter how called for him, he couldn't pull himself out of his own mind. He shook the thought out of his head... must have been some sort of dream. But it made sense that Tony wouldn't like the water, especially after yesterday.

He didn't say anything about it... Tony didn't like bringing attention to that sort of thing about his past, oddly enough preferring everyone focusing on mistruths about him going around the media or some lies random people online made up about him. He actually seemed to find most of it amusing, but as soon as anything like that came up, he was silent. Steve had no idea why that was. But he would... now that they were more or less dating, he fully intended to take advantage of it and try to learn everything he could about him. Because he had yet to find anything out about the man that didn't fascinate him.

He shrugged and smiled back to Tony, who in return ran his hands through Steve's damp hair, ignoring the looks it earned them. Steve closed his eyes and left himself relax himself relax into him again with a sigh. Every day that started as bad as this one had should be required to end as well as this.

* * *

** Sorry, this chapter is shorter than the last and up later in the day. I'm not at home and probably wont be until Sunday, but I really didn't feel like making you guys wait, though. I, for one, am happy it's starting to get a bit colder out where I live. I was getting really tired of the heat, don't know about you guys. Hope you enjoy. **

** Yay, not much happened! Really, sorry, not at home, makes writing a lot more difficult. Promise shit will actually happen next chapter. **


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